


Not Finished with Him

by ilyena_sylph, Merfilly



Series: Abandoned Concepts [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Background Relationships, Mutually Unrequited, Other, Timeline Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-08 02:07:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8826124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilyena_sylph/pseuds/ilyena_sylph, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: When Ahsoka headed out to scout a disturbance in the Force, she never expected to find a dead man. Who wasn't actually dead.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Not actually a time-travel so much as an unexpected survival story. We ran out of steam, though, and the events that were planned but not written are in the end notes.

Ahsoka scanned the horizon, bothered by something in the Force, a tremor that didn't yet have a full image with it. She needed to finish this scouting, needed to get back to other business, but that feeling was so strong even in its nebulosity. 

"Never as useful as you want," she muttered softly about the Force. She reached inward, calling on her still new-to-her ability to use her montrals properly, and let a trill ring out to augment what she could see. The montrals were still so small, but they did amplify her awareness… and where the strongest Force splash had been, she had the sense of prey.

Well, okay, not-prey, but that was what the Call had originally been developed for, and the base, instinctive levels of her mind still thought in those patterns. Apparently Togruta never really banished their evolutionary memories and skills, no matter how refined they got. Even Master Ti, as stately as she looked in the Temple, had been a very gifted and powerful Huntress when she took Ahsoka to Shili for her rites of passage.

With a quick, low loping pace, Ahsoka cleared the ground toward the not-prey, drawing up only short enough to make certain she was not in easy blaster range or likely to impale on a Sith-saber, both of her hilts in hand but not lit yet.

Rex was going to kick her shebs in if she didn't hurry up and check back in, though.

"Hey, are you alive?" she asked, even though she could tell the body in the beige tunic was breathing, and radiating the Force intensely.

Every inch of him hurt, he could feel where that red blade had gone straight through him. He had been fading, expecting to die, hating leaving his padawan and Ani behind... why was he still in such pain? 

Also, where was he, and who was speaking to him? He took a very careful breath, and things were not -- quite -- as painful as they had been when he fell. That had been a girl's voice, and he smelled earth and water, not ozone, plasma, and ray shields. He blinked, trying to get his eyes open, and the low light was as different as everything else. "...for the moment," he answered without moving. Moving just sounded ill-advised. "I seem to be." 

"Are you hurt? How'd you get here? Who are you?" Ahsoka approached after deciding no, really, there didn't seem to be a threat. Rexter would probably have had a fit, but he wasn't here right now, and neither was Skyguy, so she could make her own decisions.

Not that she typically didn't, even with them around. She just had to modify them sometimes.

"There's a pretty big hole in your tunic, and it looks like a lightsaber made it," she observed once she was close enough to make out the texture differences in the part of the tunic she could see. 

"Yes, I have quite literally no idea, and I am Qui-Gon Jinn. Also, you have good eyes," Qui-Gon answered, shifting just slightly, hearing the light, quiet steps coming closer. That bright voice was young, and he could feel the Force rippling lightly around her. He would like to be able to see her, and now that she was closer, it might even be -- 

"Whoa. Were you wearing that when it got poked?" She skidded to where his head was, dropping to a knee. Only her shoto was in her off hand now. "I don't know you. Are you an Altisian? I met a couple of them." She had been too intent on appraising him to actually catch all of what he'd said; his accent reminded her of Master Obi-Wan's a little, but not enough that the words filtered quite correctly when she was listening to her surroundings for possible danger.

"Many of the Council would be happy if I were, but no," Qui-Gon answered the second, curious question first, before considering the first. Impudent brat of an Initiate or Padawan, she sounded like -- possibly Obi-Wan had had an influence on her? -- and he made a dry noise. "I was, in fact, wearing it at the time. 

"So I am rather confused to be alive, little one. Where are we?" 

He could see her now, or at least, parts of her. Barefoot, leggings over striped markings, an almost entirely human hand... was that the tip of a lekku in his vision, now? 

"Wait. You're a regular Jedi? I thought I knew most everyone." She then extended a hand to his shoulder, feeling for injuries in his Force signature. "You are hurt but not as severely as that hole implies. I better call for pickup." She settled back to scan the still quiet landscape. "And I think this moon is called Minwan or something like that. I was half asleep in the briefing.

"Please don't tell my master that." She pulled her comm to her mouth, watching him and the area.

Minwan, if the girl was correct, was a very long way from Naboo, which rather added to his confusion. She had a light touch, careful in the Force but quick and practiced at seeking injuries. "I am fairly certain that I do not know all the Jedi, young padawan, and I have had rather more time to attempt the task." Call for pickup, she said so easily. She and her Master must be working closely with a local government on something, to have that kind of resource available. "Last I recall, I was very sure I was dying, so only being 'hurt' is a profound improvement." 

"Sorry, I know that sounded cheeky. I meant all the ones that are… well… older." She grinned at him, then focused and activated the comm. "Base, this is Commander Tano. Have an injured here with me; can you send someone to me? Not critical, but I'd rather not have to carry him all the way back."

"Affirmative, Commander. Pulling your geo-data now to dispatch transport," came a low, confident voice with a Mando'a accent on the words.

"Thanks, Brace. Drop a word to the Captain I did check in, would ya?"

"Roger that, Commander."

Everything about the last half-minute was more confusing than the next thing, Qui-Gon thought, trying to sort it all out past the cloud of pain. This child was mercurial, shifting from a playful little brat as energetic as young Aayla to a serious padawan to a concerned friend in the space of breaths. That would be baffling enough, but... Military rank, for a Jedi? A padawan, at that? 

And then the accent that responded to her? _Mando'a_ , willingly answering to a Jedi, and on the other side of the galaxy from that system? Well, could be a local commander, someone gone bounty hunter in the wake of Satine's reformations. Perhaps it was not so baffling -- except that having a Jedi (no, two, because her master must also be) in a military setting had been unheard of and unthinkable for centuries. 

Wait. 'Tano'? And she did appear to be Togruta... no, there was no way. He shook his head slightly, denying the thought. 

"Is it hurting worse?" Ashoka asked as she lowered her arm… and remembered to clip her shoto to her belt. "I don't carry an aid kit, and my healing is about limited to sleep commands," she said apologetically. "The war just hasn't given me much time for it, even if the need really is there. But then, my master's not great at it either.

"Do you want me to help you roll over or sit up? Are you stock human? You're very tall. You're taller than my master, and he's giant compared to me." She stopped chattering to give him a chance to respond to all of that, tipping her head a little.

"And I thought _my_ padawan was energetic. I think you could give his entire group lessons in it!" Qui-Gon said, even as his heart quailed at some of what she had said. 'The war just hasn't'... 

But what war? "Padawan," he asked, carefully, "would you happen to know the date?" 

"Umm, which calendar? It's Year 16 in the ReSynch one, or 980 after the Ruusan Reformation," and then she rattled off the Hutt trade year. "Or twelve years into Chancellor Palpatine's government." She sighed. "Maybe I don't know you because you have been lost? Is that it? Are you one of those Jedi that wandered off and didn't come back right away?"

The problem was that she was beginning to feel a nagging sense that she should know him, like she might have seen him in the Temple before. But humans didn't really start being very distinct to her until she was nearly five years old. 

"Twelve years," Qui-Gon said after several numb moments, quietly horrified, and very troubled. "...I'm missing twelve years?" 

He shifted enough to touch the hole through his chest, and winced as his fingers did, in fact, sink in. He was still wounded, badly so, from the creature's lightsaber... but it had been twelve years? "A very thorough answer, Padawan, thank you." 

"I'm Padawan Ahsoka Tano, and my Master is Knight Anakin Skywalker, and you're going to be in the care of the 501st's Torrent Company once we get back to Camp. We might have already broken the Seppies, but we're waiting on our scout reports to be sure, and what Admiral Yularen can see from the _Resolute_ ," Ahsoka told him. She then helped him sit and her eyes went wide at that injury. "Oh, that's not good. Definitely taking you straight to Kix."

Qui-Gon pressed the fingers of his other hand to his aching temples, trying to assimilate the outpouring of information from this young bundle of Togruta energy. Anakin, a Knight already, with a padawan of his own? That Padawan was Plo's newest foundling? Yularen... he remembered a Captain Yularen. And who did she mean by the 'Seppies'? Selfishly, he settled on the most relevant to himself bit. "Anakin? Ani, a Knight already? Truly?" 

"Wait, you know my Master? Well, like everyone does. He's himself," Ahsoka said, with sibling pride and love for the man she had been partnered to. "May I know your name, Master Jedi?" she asked him, to see if it rang any knowledge loose. "You said twelve years, though. That's just when he came to the Temple, not long after I did!"

"I did tell you already, little one," Qui-Gon said, looking at the blatant adoration and pride in her face for the boy he'd been so fascinated by. Anakin was obviously living up to his potential, for her to look so, and sound so. But that was so young to take a padawan, why -- he would find such things out later. "But my name is Qui-Gon Jinn, Master Jinn if we must be formal. And yes... I recall Plo carrying around holos of his newest foundling. Who... might be you? Your markings are very different, now." 

She beamed at the mention of her Finder. Then the name really sank in, and her eyes got very large indeed.

"But you died! You faded into the Force! I heard the story from Skyguy, one night when my other Master… not really, but he prefers that to being called Grandmaster… got really sad. Because it was your nameday." She scrunched up her nose, really looking at him, trying to remember if she had ever seen a holo in the cramped Temple quarters of his face. "And yes, Master Plo was my Finder. He still has those holos, because he showed them to Sinker once."

"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon murmured, his heart clenching at the thought of his padawan grieving, of being such a painful memory to him, wishing passionately that he had not been as stupid as he had. He should never have rushed Maul alone. And Obi-Wan had been the one to pay the price for it... oh, his poor padawan. He pushed his fingers through his hair, looking at this young member of his line with a profound ache in his chest. 

"It seems that the Force was not finished with me?" he offered, shaking his head, just a little. "Not that I have heard of such a thing before. ...Sinker?" 

"One of the Wolfpack, Master Plo's original unit. They lost most of the men, but Master Plo won't let them be folded into his 127th, to let them keep what little they survived with," Ahsoka said. "Are you really Master Jinn? Because if you're a Sith trick, I'm pretty sure Skyguy is going to tear you apart before Master Obi-Wan even gets a breath of this." She wasn't cruel in her words, just matter of fact about it. She knew her Master's protective streak pretty well after all.

Qui-Gon made a curious noise at the mention of 'original unit', still incredibly confused about what in the names of the Force was going on here -- and then there were the rest of her words, and he went very still. '...a Sith trick'? 

He had been certain that the creature was a Sith -- the lightsaber and eyes had made him very sure, as well as the tainted presence -- but for a Padawan to speak of them so calmly was distressing, to say the least. And then there was her simple, steadily calm voice on 'Skyguy', and oh, what a nickname, and what he would do. 

Qui-Gon could not help but approve, almost despite himself. "I am fairly certain I am," he replied.

"Master Plo was given the 104th first, but then the Seppies took out most of their men, so he was also given the 127th," she said to the curious noise. "Me and Skyguy had to find them, mind you, because that was a really really bad mission." She cocked her head back toward base then. "Ride's coming," she said, absolutely pleased with herself for being able to catch the sound this far out.

Qui-Gon cocked his head slightly, listening, stretching out with the Force -- which was also unpleasant, almost as unpleasant as breathing -- for a moment before he caught the sound of a ship coming close. "I suppose that means attempting to get on my feet..." 

"Don't worry about that, Master. I'm pretty talented at lifting my wounded troops into larties," she told him. "There's no shame in being helped when you're injured. Even Skyguy has let me help him. Granted, he had gotten himself nearly killed, but hey, it was a start."

Besides that, she knew Rex. If there wasn't at least a gunner accompanying the pilot, she was an anooba pup. There'd be help to get him aboard, once it was there.

"Into what, padawan?" Qui-Gon asked, trying to get a grip on things, or at the very least on terminology. There were a million questions he wanted to ask, but he was somewhat unwilling to unload most of them onto a still very young padawan. That seemed both unwise and somewhat cruel. 

"A lartie? Low altitude assault transport ship," she told him. "The backbone of our ground campaigns. Well, them and the AT-TEs. Because we have to get the troops in and keep them safe, right?" She shaded her eyes to look at the ship coming in for them. "Have to do everything I can to keep them safe," she said in a more serious, quieter voice.

"An admirable desire," Qui-Gon told her, and meant it. He could feel her conviction, her _need_ to protect these men who somehow, for some reason, answered to the Jedi as commanders... "And one I'm pleased to hear in my line." 

"The Vod'e are the best, and they had no choice, and it's awful," she said with a sigh. "I just can't let my brothers down," she said. She then looked over at him, and put a hand on his shoulder, offering a wave of energy at him. That was a skill that had been Obi-Wan's trademark, something done to keep them both moving on hard missions. "It's really hard for me to tell, but I think you're paler than most humans are supposed to be. You're rivalling the Senator in her makeup… or Ventress." That last name was said with venom.

What did she mean, they had had no choice? Qui-Gon made a baffled sound, before leaning into that wash of her energy, accepting the bolstering he did seem to need. _Vod'e_ , that was as Mando'a as that accent had been, and yes, it did mean brothers -- well, siblings, in any case. But to hear a padawan claim them as 'her' brothers... What in the names of the stars had gone so terribly wrong in the galaxy? "I... probably am," he agreed, "though I can't exactly see myself to tell." 

The ship came in swiftly, settling just where they could get in. Ahsoka reached with the Force… and Qui-Gon found himself in a strong, confident grip of Force energy, one that was gentle where he was hurting, and cradling elsewhere. It was obviously skill tempered with compassion, and honed by experience with moving injured soldiers.

"Heya, Sundown," she called to the pilot. "And Chipper," she said to the gunner, getting the two-fingered salute even as she was settling Qui-Gon on the decking and securing him with web-belts quickly.

"All in, Commander?" Sundown asked.

"All set," she acknowledged, standing to take a strap hold.

The armor looked somewhat like _beskar'gam_ , Qui-Gon thought, white and painted with a deep shade of blue. "You have a fine technique," he told the padawan standing up ahead of him, "though one that seems to have had rather more practice than anyone would wish." 

"I try… no, do my best, Master." She gave him a smile, but turned her eyes out the open side, staying alert to anything that might threaten her men or the injured Jedi. "Chipper, any developments since I left camp?"

"None I know, Sir. General's still out on scout with Jesse," he said. "Captain's got everyone investing our camp, so the wounded will be safe even when second wave hits."

"Let's hope we don't have a second wave," Ahsoka muttered. "Thanks, Chipper."

The sense he got from the men was a strong feeling that the 'General' they meant was a Jedi, and from Ahsoka, that meant... Anakin, his tiny bright foundling-child, a _General_? Qui-Gon shook his head in bafflement and more unease, and watched what of the world passing by he could from the open side. 

It was not a long ride back to the camp, and once there, Chipper helped with a legitimate stretcher to get Qui-Gon to their aid station. Ahsoka walked alongside, though her attention strayed to every man they passed. She greeted them all by name, a cheerful presence that had an impact on their morale loud enough for Qui-Gon to pick up on without trying.

Qui-Gon watched the interactions, much as he could from where he was staring at the sky, and the way that she seemed -- just by speaking to them -- to cheer them, to encourage and delight them... at least that was a good thing to feel. He was puzzled by how similar their voices seemed to be, especially when the names she called to them seemed to follow no particular pattern (and most were definitely not Mando'a), but could find no easy way of asking about that... not yet. Especially when that should probably be fairly low on the list of questions he was still trying to make (and not to ask her). 

He wasn't displeased when they passed through a doorway and there was no longer quite so much light directly in his eyes. Here, there was a strong feeling of wounds borne up under with strength and will, grief, and a determination to live. One of the men in armor came towards them, though he did not have one of the helmets on, his jaw already set in a firm line. 

"Commander, what'd you find me now?" 

"Hi, Kix. This is a Jedi that's been out of the loop for a while, and we're not real sure of anything, but he's got wounds that need treated," Ahsoka said. "Master, even though Jedi are officers, I'll save Kix's breath and go ahead and tell you he outranks anyone with an injury, okay?"

She wasn't going to use his name, not among others, not until her own Master had verified his identity. There was too much a possibility it was known, and why.

"As I'm rather too uninformed to be useful," Qui-Gon replied, "even if I weren't badly injured, I can see no reason that would be a problem. Kix, is it? Thank you for any aid you can give." He could feel Ahsoka's wariness about giving over his name, and found that he agreed with her, at least for the moment. 

"Of course, sir. But you're going to have to let me see what I'm working on. I assume you want to keep those?" Jedi and their garb, worse than a _vod_ and his armor. Even when the sensible thing would be to just cut it off, they'd try and save their paint... why Jedi were that way, he had yet to figure out. 

"As I doubt there will be clothing to fit me within a parsec or so, based on your commander's impression of my height, I prefer so," Qui-Gon said, which made Ahsoka grin.

"My Master's robes might fit well enough… but he doesn't have any on the ship that I know of, so yeah." She moved to help support him and get him stripped of the tunics and belts, knowing the fastest way to help speed that along. "Hey, Chipper, can you go get me an ETA on my Master, if Rex knows?"

"Right away, sir."

Qui-Gon did not hiss as the padawan helped to get the wound -- it was a single wound, if front and back -- exposed, though it took rather a lot of effort not to. Oh. Apparently he had taken other blows, ones he missed in the adrenaline of the fight, that now quite firmly demanded his attention. It was odd to have so much of his skin bare with many others around, especially one a youngling, but it was necessary, and this was a form of a Healer's Wing. 

It was ridiculous for that mild an exertion to have tired him, but he found himself breathing hard (and that hurt quite a lot) as he settled flat again. 

Ahsoka gently shifted him to his side as soon as Kix had inspected the front wound, so he could see the rear one, and the medic frowned. That should be a mortal wound….

"Force things and Jedi stubborn," she said at the look he gave her. "Can you handle it here, or do I need to evac him to the ship?"

"Oddly enough, I think I can handle it here, based on the scan," Kix said. "Can you keep supporting him, or should I get slings?"

"I've got this, Kix." She was oddly loathe to leave the Master at all, though she would eventually have to, to get Skyguy involved in determining the truth.

"More the first than the second," Qui-Gon said around slow breaths, amazed at the way that the exuberant girl who had barraged him with questions and partial information had turned (again) into a serious, competent assistant to the medic making faces at his injuries. She was so young... and right now, only the shape of her face and her short montrals gave that away. "I admit myself curious about those scans, given how sure I was that I was about to die..." 

"You should have," Kix said bluntly. "I've seen amazing healing in you Jedi, but never anyone who healed the critical part of an injury so quickly, leaving just the entry and exit to deal with."

"Force things," Ahsoka said firmly. "It wasn't done with this Master." She grinned a little at Kix, got a scowl in turn, so rolled her eyes and settled back to being an assistant.

"That's a fine excuse you give Skywalker's astromech, but it doesn't help me understand how best to treat him, Sir," Kix told her.

"Yeah, I know," she said, her tone slightly apologetic to him.

So the time he had spent in the Force had apparently healed the deepest part of the wound, the part that went through vital organs, and left him, and the medic, with the more surface-level damage to work on. Or muscular-level, anyway. And Kix had handled Ahsoka fairly adeptly, though the padawan was entirely right in her diagnosis on one level. The Force was not done with him, and had acted to ensure he would not die. 

"This is new ground, I think," he told Kix. "so I will have to trust myself to your knowledge of what to do, as much as my ability to go into a healing trance." 

"I don't recommend that part until we're safely aboard the _Resolute_ , sir," Kix said, a slightly decreased emphasis on the honorific from how he pronounced it to Ahsoka. "We tend to prefer the wounded be capable of at least attempting their own mobility or keeping awareness for those that are moving them."

"Also known as, sometimes the Seppies manage to get a drop on our camps," Ahsoka explained a little more. 

"That would, in fact, be a bad time to be in trance," Qui-Gon agreed, shaking his head a little at the thought before he simply let the medic do his work. 

+++

Ahsoka could finally actually go to her Master's side nearly a full two hours later. Chipper had reported in to her, but she was still assisting Kix, and then she had gotten sidetracked by a request from one of their supply sergeants to help move a demos box.

Now, she slipped quietly inside Anakin's tent, not surprised to find him looking over a holo of the terrain surrounding the city ahead of them.

"Master?"

"Hey, Snips," he greeted her without looking away from the map, frowning, trying to sort out the Seps most likely next move. "Rex said you took a scouting trip yourself, and came back with someone wounded? A local?" 

"Not really? I felt a disturbance in the Force, Master, which is why I had to go see," she said, making certain to clear Rex if Anakin hadn't been pleased by her trip. "I insisted I go see, since you weren't here and I had to be sure it wasn't a threat.

"Only, I got there, and it was a person, a Jedi, apparently," she said, waiting for him to look up, because surely that warranted breaking from the map.

What? Anakin blinked and turned from the map, facing his padawan, firmly schooling his expression away from his internal confusion. "...what, Snips? You're going to have to explain that one a little more." 

Even Jedi didn't just appear out of nowhere. 

"Figured I would," Ahsoka told him, coming close enough to sit beside him. "The Force apparently decided we either need guidance, or an ally, or…. the Sith figured out how to pull a really nasty trick on us, and you're going to have to be the one to figure it out. Because I'm way too young to remember him. 

"The man said he was missing twelve years once I gave him the date, and he says his name is Master Jinn," she finished.

Anakin stared down at her, then carefully sat down on the edge of the map display, looking at her intent, focused face. At first, he'd only been curious, but that -- that last? It couldn't be real, it had to be some kind of Sith trick, and he was going to _feed every single one of them_ their own teeth, one by one. 

He drew a slow breath, hauled himself back from his anger, and looked at his padawan again. "You said, 'He says his name is'. What did you feel, Snips? What did you hear?" 

He couldn't think about it being real, not yet, not until he had more of the picture. But if this was some new Sith trick... they were all going to pay for it in blood. No-one was going to hurt his Master like this. Not ever, not while he lived. 

Ahsoka closed her eyes, pulling on the memory. "He was lying face down. There was a hole in the back of his tunic. He had a matching one on the front, when I helped him move. According to Kix's scans, the middle part of the injury had been healed. But as to his claim… he believes it enough that the Force accepts it as true, the best I could hear and feel.

"And he is so clueless about the men, the war, only knew of me from Master Plo's holos, and he called you Ani," she said.

"Maul ran him through," Anakin murmured, remembering what Obi-Wan had told him, the blank numbness in the words as he did. Quiet, simple words... and the very quiet had been both familiar and frightening to him, then. "Got the better of him and," he twisted his wrist, knowing the move Maul had to have made. "The Force believes it, Snips?" 

That... didn't mean it wasn't a trick. But it might mean that he didn't know he was part of a trick, or a trap. 

There was still the fact that he'd suddenly appeared on this moon, badly injured but no longer dying, right on top of a full Republic camp. "...show me exactly where, Snips," he told his padawan, waving at the display. With coordinates, he could demand to know what the _Resolute_ had seen. 

Ahsoka adjusted the map down to a level that made sense to her two legs, recounted how far she had jogged out, played that back against the trip on the ship back, and highlighted a grid point. "You can double-check with Sundown, but I think right here? The topography looks right and that's about how far I should have been able to cover in the time I ran.

"He seems real, but I've only got a dim impression of a really tall man wandering through the creche one night. I tried to remember if there were holos of him in our quarters, but if there are, they've never been on when I was in the quarters." She shrugged slightly. "No lightsaber on him. Tunic and belt material felt like Temple issue and were on in the right pattern for a human male."

Anakin reached to lay his fingers on one montral, so proud of her for how much she kept her eyes and her senses open, how well she hunted... "Thank you, Snips." He tapped his comm, got that confirmation from Sundown about where he'd picked her and the wounded Jedi up, and commed to the _Resolute_. 

It didn't take long to confirm that there had been no ships or speeders except theirs in the area since they'd made landfall two days ago, that the _Resolute_ had seen nothing unusual at all. 

__He didn't actually like that answer, because it meant that he had to start considering the possibility that this might be real. And that... he didn't know if he could stand to believe it, stand to hope, and then lose Master Jinn again._ _

__Master Jinn, the only one that had really wanted him, believed in him -- even just _believed_ him -- about what he wanted. What he needed to do. _ _

__Ahsoka had pushed into that light touch, then she settled back to wait, in case he needed her for something. She was worried about him. He seemed almost as worried and upset that it was a trick as she imagined Master Obi-Wan would be, and she wanted to find a way to alleviate it._ _

__"Master?" she finally volunteered. "If Master Plo was showing off holos of me to him, I think that means they were friends. And Master Plo… he's got ways of telling that are more than the Force."_ _

__Anakin blinked once, his eyes finding hers as her voice drew him away from the tangle of his thoughts, and he nodded. She had a point, about that, and Master Plo was... of all the Council that had been on it when Master Qui-Gon found him, Master Plo was probably the one he liked most. Plo Koon, at least, knew how to love, and didn't shut himself off from it. "That's a good thought, Snips. I'll find out if he can come to us -- and how soon."_ _

__It took more to get a comm to another capital ship in a very different sector, and he let the _Resolute_ put it through for him, while he used the time to route it through the display so that he didn't have to keep his arm and shoulder twisted to comm-use. And tried not to think about that someone who looked and thought like Master Qui-Gon was in the aid station with his medic and his men. _ _

__Ahsoka, not trusting Anakin to be okay, decided to just curl up on the corner of his cot, half-dozing until Plo's voice brought her fully alert again, once they had him on the comm. She shifted to see the holo, listening, but staying quiet._ _

__"Skywalker, how may I be of service?" he asked, as impassive as ever as far as the visual cues went. Ahsoka, however, could hear the concern in his voice; that pleased her as it was a reminder that her Finder liked her Master._ _

__"My campaign's going fairly well, but we've.... run into a situation that needs your -- other -- abilities, Master Plo," Anakin answered, "if you can possibly be spared from your own operations. It's not something to discuss over comms, unfortunately."_ _

__Plo looked over his shoulder a moment, nodded to someone (probably Wolffe), and then looked back. "We are in good shape here. And it is not that far a jump. I can be there shortly." Ahsoka wanted to cheer him, for not questioning, for agreeing. She had the best Finder, to go with the best Master._ _

__" _Thank_ you, Master," Anakin replied, instantly. He wanted backup on this... even if calling for Master Plo meant that he couldn't kill the man no matter if he did turn out to be a Sith trap until after Master Plo got to them. He thought he might have help, though, if that was the case. Master Plo, when you could rouse it, had a ruthless streak. "We'll be glad to see you. I'll warn the _Resolute_ you're on your way. Force be with you." _ _

__"And with you, Anakin." Plo signed off to go ready his ship for the journey._ _

__"So which wolf will he arrive with?" Ahsoka asked, teasingly. "And are you going to go to medical, or just wait it out til he gets here? Because if it's the latter, I should probably keep myself available to Kix, just in case."_ _

__"You're kidding, right? I was mysterious. Wolffe's going to be glued to his six," Anakin replied. Most of the legions, the Jedi and the Commander wouldn't leave at the same time, but Wolffe... was Wolffe. "I'm not patient enough to wait that long, Snips, come on, don't you know me by now?"_ _

__Ahsoka giggled. "Yeah, I figured, but I had to ask. Kix is one of our most skilled men, and I don't like having been gone this long with a mystery near him. So if you want to go, I'll be a dutiful padawan and go back to staring at the map and thinking on strategy."_ _

__He reached and petted her other montral carefully, nodding at her. "You do that, then. I'm going to go investigate for myself -- as soon as I actually warn the Admiral."_ _

__That only took a few moments, and then he was headed for the aid station and Kix. Kix, and -- who-or-what-ever this was. He tried to center himself, tried to calm and hold himself steady against his emotions (which worked about as well as it ever did for him), the entire way over, and even as he ducked inside._ _

__Which had Qui-Gon looking to the door, a protective edge to his face even as his wounds reminded him he was not young, not whole, but there was such a storm in that presence entering, he could not help but want to protect the other injured, and the gruff medic currently sleeping._ _

__Or, previously sleeping, anyway, as Kix lifted his head, made note it was the General, and slipped his hand back off his deece on the edge of the cot he was using. Not a threat._ _

__Anakin's eyes swept across the berths, checking each one for which of his men had been hurt today, knowing them each, then finding Kix -- just in time to see him letting go of his deece, good, he was as wary as ever -- before he dared really look at the berth he'd first skipped over. Right hair, from his memories, beard and moustache he remembered. He couldn't quite see the color of the man's eyes, not in the low, resting light, but he thought they were light._ _

__He'd never seen Master Qui-Gon less than perfectly Jedi clothed, definitely never with the massive bandage-packs for critical wounds flashing their faint lights over his bare chest, and... he hadn't known how to consciously read a Force presence when he knew Master Qui-Gon. He remembered how he had felt, but there was a difference between that and consciously touching. He reached out with it anyway, as he walked closer, his eyes running over boots and leggings that were as familiar as Ahsoka had said they would be._ _

__"Anakin? Little Ani?" Qui-Gon said in a low, soft voice that only carried as far as it needed to. He tried to shift so he could sit up, to make room for the young man. "Your padawan mentioned height, but it's hard to believe without seeing. And I think I miss the blond hair," he added._ _

__The voice was right. Not just the pitch, but the tone behind it on his name, and the comment about his hair sounded like exactly the kind of wry quip Master Qui-Gon would have made. "I'm Anakin," he agreed, just as soft, "but I'm _not_ so sure that you're you, yet." _ _

__He really, really wasn't, even though some idiot traitorous part of him wanted to just believe it, wanted to accept this man as that part of his memories come back to them._ _

__That didn't actually happen, not outside of fantasy holodramas. He wasn't stupid enough to believe it did... even with what evidence they had saying maybe, this time, it had. He'd stopped trusting anything that much a long, long time ago._ _

__"Quite fair. I'm still not certain I believe it, given I last recall dying before having a very exuberant Togruta chattering at me," Qui-Gon said, before groaning at the effort to get upright on the berth. "I do not understand any of this, especially the half-healed wound that warrior made in my torso."_ _

__Anakin moved at the sound, carefully helping the man get upright, his hands careful on shoulder and back -- and the feeling that poured through his left hand was exactly like he remembered the warmth of Master Qui-Gon lifting him up to his shoulders. Less exuberant, more wounded -- obviously -- but... the presence was the same. He took a half-shaking breath, kept him supported (he was guessing they had thirty seconds or so before Kix was snarling at them) as he studied the face now much closer to his._ _

__That he, too, was confused, was not claiming to be who he appeared to be... was oddly reassuring, and made him want to believe. That, along with the feel of him, was very slightly starting to convince him this might be true. What he was going to _do_ about that -- that was another question entirely, and one he wasn't sure he could face right now. _ _

__"Maul," he growled, not really terribly quietly, trying to hold his loathing for the Zabrak at bay. "And... Ahsoka _is_ exuberant, isn't she?" _ _

__"Maul. An entirely too appropriate name for that being," Qui-Gon said, closing his eyes as he settled in the new position. It made him remember how convinced he had been that Maul would kill one of them, and his determination to not let it be his beloved padawan. "And yes. Rather … mercurial in going between being a youngling and a military commander, though… and that latter distresses me to no end. As well as you being a General._ _

__"But I suppose discussing how the galaxy reached this point needs to wait for one of us to decide that this actually is me, here and now, yes?" Qui-Gon offered._ _

__"It sure is," Anakin agreed about Maul, still supporting this man -- stranger, not-stranger -- since that wound had to be difficult to deal with. He snorted, quietly, at the 'mercurial' descriptor for his Snips, no matter how much he happened to agree with it, before he had to actually pause and blink at the man. Ahsoka had said he was confused by the men, by the situation, and of _course_ Master Qui-Gon would be, but it was so much the shape of his life that he'd forgotten how confusing it would be. _ _

__"And yeah, that's definitely waiting. But there are a few things only you and I would know, so... let's talk about those, mm?"_ _

__"Alright." Qui-Gon looked at the young man, his head buzzing with that potent signature that had only sharpened, intensified since Anakin had been a boy (yesterday, for Qui-Gon). "What questions do you have for me, Ani?"_ _

__That was the right softness on his old nickname, the right accent... Anakin shoved the traitorous wish to believe off to the side, and focused. The memories of those days were so strong for him, even after everything, that it was easy to reach back to their very first meeting. He pulled back behind the strongest shields he'd learned how to build from Master Plo and Master Fisto -- they were always deliberate things for him, but now was the time for it if there ever was one -- so that the answer couldn't be read from him, and looked at the man's face again. "What did I tell you one of your party had just about had happen to him, and who was it? The first time we actually met."_ _

__Qui-Gon felt the shielding tighten around Anakin, and approved of the ability while bemoaning the need. "You used some colorful words about Jar Jar nearly getting himself killed by that … that Dug," Qui-Gon said, his distaste and anger still sharp at the cheating racer that had risked Anakin's life. "I appreciated the assistance. And then you were warning us about the storm, and showing your generous nature, to take us to your home."_ _

__It'd been a long time since anyone called him generous. Anakin blinked for a moment, before he nodded, smiling just a little at the right answer. 'Puddle of orange goo', he was pretty sure he'd said, but 'colorful words' was more like Qui-Gon._ _

__"You were never going to make it to a ship safely," he replied, shrugging a little. Kix hadn't said a word yet, and that was surprising, but he'd take it. "When we were talking over dinner, and I asked you if you were a Jedi, because I'd seen your lightsaber... what did you tell me?"_ _

__"Words that made you answer in such a way as to hurt my heart, yet reveal so much of your nature." Qui-Gon gave a small smile. "I asked how you knew I hadn't killed a Jedi and taken it from them. You told me no one could kill a Jedi. And I told how I wished that was true." He'd lost friends, and now, it was a lesson Anakin knew, if Qui-Gon was understanding the situation clearly. War always had casualties._ _

__Anakin snorted at the reminder of how dumb he'd been as a boy, how naive... and nodded slowly at the answer. That was right, that was exactly how it had happened. Jar Jar would know that, and his Angel, but he couldn't quite imagine them being manipulated into revealing that._ _

__"I learned better," he replied, "pretty damned quickly." He was quiet for a moment, two, looking at that sad, sad touch of a smile. He remembered that expression, and it, as much as anything else, whispered that this really was the Master that had found him. Facial expressions, after all, were the thing that never entirely matched, even on batchmates. "Where did you sleep that night?"_ _

__Waking with the big man taking up most of his floor had been a shock. He would have given up his cot for him, if he'd had any idea that was what he was planning..._ _

__Qui-Gon's smile was soft with memory. "Exactly where I most needed to be. On your floor, so I could keep watch over you." There hadn't been much sleep, as he had been considering the mission and the prophecy alike, trying to glimpse the fullness of the moment._ _

__Anakin took a shaken breath at the phrasing of that answer. No matter how correct it was, the way he said it, the openness... And no-one else, he thought, knew that. He'd been the first one awake, and trying to get out had brought Qui-Gon awake. They'd had to avoid Jar Jar on the floor in the kitchen -- which he'd slept right through -- before Mom and Padmé had gotten up. He swallowed, his head tilting, looking at the other man from underneath of the bangs he'd been glad to grow back._ _

__Qui-Gon, despite his injuries, shifted to try to get his arm around Anakin's shoulders. "My dear boy, it's been a hard twelve years for you, hasn't it?" he said softly, so open and gentle. He could imagine that even though Anakin had been trained, that it had not been an easy path, given the stupidity of masters in the temple._ _

__"Master," Anakin whispered, shaken by the quiet sympathy and care, the _open_ heart that Master Qui-Gon had so consistently shown him in the few days they knew each other, and he gave up on disbelief and burrowed his forehead in against Master Qui-Gon's neck, nodding. 'A hard twelve years' covered it -- mostly. He held on, careful of the injuries, as he tried to pull himself back to composure. For a minute or so, he completely failed at that, just breathing shakily, before he finally succeeded. _ _

__He lifted his head, finding Qui-Gon's eyes with his, as the one other thing they had to get clear resurfaced in his mind. "If you turn out to somehow _not_ be you, and that hurts **my** Master... I'm going to drag you back to Tatooine and personally feed you to the Sarlaac in small pieces. Understand me?" _ _

__"If I recall correctly, doesn't that negate the torture a Sarlaac brings, by using the small pieces?" Qui-Gon answered him, wry amusement his answer to being threatened. "Anakin, I fear my near-death hurt Obi-Wan more than I would ever want to; I'll do all it takes to guard my … to guard him from further pain because of me."_ _

__He hadn't said _where_ he would stop removing pieces, Anakin thought to point out, but didn't. The rest of the words were far more important, and he nodded in response. "You had better," he agreed. "And yes... it did. He tried not to let me see it, but losing you hurt him so badly." _ _

__Qui-Gon closed his eyes, pain seeping out of him at that into the Force. "If one of us was to die; it could not be him," he whispered softly._ _

__"Oh," Anakin said, startled, as that actually did make sense. If he knew, going into a fight, that he or Snips was going to die? Not her, not **ever** , not if there was anything he could do about it. She was his padawan, his responsibility, his greatest pride... and he had only had her a little while. For Master Qui-Gon, and his Master, who'd been together more than a decade? _ _

__"I get that. He's not going to agree, though."_ _

__"He often argued on the necessity of such things," Qui-Gon agreed, before he opened his eyes. "Tell me about him? Tell me what I've missed of Obi-Wan?"_ _

__"You should lie back down, Master," Anakin said, feeling the tremors through his back that had started a little while ago. "But yes. I'll tell you about my Master."_ _

__"I hate being coddled."_ _

__"Get used to it, Master Jedi, as long as you're near my unit!" Kix growled menacingly._ _

__Qui-Gon startled at that that, then looked at Anakin. "Did he study under Vokara?" he asked even as he let Anakin help him back down on the bed._ _

__"Oh, Force," Anakin said, helping to settle Master Qui-Gon back down, and not bothering to wonder how much Kix had heard. He didn't have to worry about Kix saying a word to anyone, ever. "That's a terrifying thought! No, no-one's put Master Che and our medics together, thank the stars."_ _

__"They'd be terrifying in unification," Qui-Gon agreed, before he just closed his eyes, focusing on trying to control the pain. "Talk to me, Anakin. If I am not keeping you from duty or rest."_ _

__Anakin snorted. "I don't sleep much, and Ahsoka's keeping an eye on things. If I'm needed, she'll call."_ _

__"I still remember Plo's excitement over this tiny Togruta child; to see her so confidently handling herself, I must presume his faith in her was well-placed," Qui-Gon said, before letting Anakin take over the talking._ _

__+++_ _

__Plo arrived in a bomber, as it was a double-seated flier, and sure enough, it was Commander Wolffe who emerged with him. Quiet words between them had Wolffe going to find Anakin's Captain, to see if there was anything that was needed in the way of relief, while Plo allowed his senses to guide him._ _

__Wild, strong sense of the Living Force… that would be his 'Soka. Stronger whirlwind of Force that was all parts of it, including the tinges of the darker side… that was Skywalker._ _

__But the Living Force was drawing him to the side, closer to where… medical should be? Why was there a second champion of the primal Force here? One that tapped against familiar patterns in Plo's memory?_ _

__Was this why Skywalker wished his presence? He strode swiftly toward the young Knight's location, his curiosity fully roused._ _

__Anakin left what he was doing to join Master Plo -- between comms and the Master's sheer presence, there'd been no chance he wouldn't know when he arrived -- before he could get far from the landing bay, and he stretched out his hands in greeting once he was within a meter or so. "Thank you for coming so quickly."_ _

__"We were not very heavily engaged, and it will be good practice for Captain Jag to manage his squadron," Plo said. "Also, you do not often ask for aid of any kind. I prefer to encourage that to become a trend, young Skywalker."_ _

__Anakin shook his head at that, half-smiling -- no, he didn't, and probably never would, but... he was glad of the help, right now. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to be blunt. Ahsoka went out scouting, not long before I commed you... and found -- apparently, anyway -- Master Qui-Gon."_ _

__Plo's regulated breathing stuttered for a long moment, before his head swiveled toward medical. "Yes, that would be the familiar feeling..." he mused aloud. "I was surprised to feel two strong Living Force presences, and the one that was not little 'Soka had a familiar pull._ _

__"Qui-Gon Jinn, though? An intriguing answer to the mystery of his fading away. But you are uncertain it is him?"_ _

__Anakin shrugged one shoulder a little, though that much of a reaction from Master Plo was oddly soothing. The analytical tone was so very much Master Plo that he had almost smiled, but this wasn't really the time. "It looks like him, feels like him, and he... does know things that only he and I should know. He's even wounded in the right spot, and badly enough that Kix has growled about restraining him if he won't keep himself in the berth more than once. But it -- seems fairly impossible, Master."_ _

__"Nothing is impossible, if the Force wills it. Imagine the aid it brings to us, if Master Jinn heals properly, as he would be completely unexpected by the enemy." Plo let a layer of satisfaction seep into his words. "Especially the Count." He then inclined his head. "Do you wish to escort me there, or I can find my own way, should you have duties. I have convinced Wolffe to go find your captain, and offer his help."_ _

__...what this could do to deal with Dooku... Anakin felt his smile sharpen in response to that thought, his own satisfaction probably showing in the Force. "I'll go with you, Master, then get back to things."_ _

__Wolffe and Rex would be fine, they actually mostly got along -- and he didn't want Master Plo to be the only one dealing with it, if things turned out to _not_ be as he'd come to believe. _ _

__Plo let Anakin lead, nodding politely to those they passed. He also smiled behind his mask, hearing Ahsoka exhorting and encouraging men as they worked together in one bay they passed. She was growing up into such a strong Jedi, especially with Skywalker's guidance._ _

__At medical, however, Plo pushed aside all other thoughts, reaching into that other Force presence, searching it for any lies even before they stepped to where Qui-Gon could be seen._ _

__Even in trance, Qui-Gon had felt the arrival of another, and only Kix stubbornly pinning his shoulder to the berth had kept him from getting upright before yet another Jedi could see him in this condition. The men were still a mystery to him, as he and Anakin had only spoken around the war, and few of them were still in medical for him to observe. Also, he had needed the healing trance, which kept him from wondering too much._ _

__Was this Jedi coming a Healer, perhaps? The door opened, and Qui-Gon knew otherwise. That silhouette was his old friend Plo Koon, and he managed a half-smile. "Hello, old friend. Ani, you made a wise choice here."_ _

__"Of course he did; Anakin is one of our brightest and best Jedi warriors," Plo said, walking over. "No, Medic Kix, I will not allow him to tax himself greatly. I only wish to verify his identity."_ _

__"He's supposed to be in trance, so keep it short, General," Kix admonished._ _

__Anakin had no idea how the longnecks had managed to make the medics both as obedient as any other clone and as stubbornly intransigent as Master Che, but watching it never failed to amuse him. (Experiencing it, on the other hand, was so frustrating -- but that, at least, was not something that happened often.)_ _

__That unforced and entirely sincere praise, from Master Plo, rattled him a little, but he kept it behind his teeth and his shields, finding a nearby spot to wait._ _

__"I knew he would be," Qui-Gon replied, reaching up for Plo's taloned hands as he looked up at him. "What do you need of me?"_ _

__Plo wrapped his hands around the human's, and let himself take in the presence fully, brushing his mind against Qui-Gon's lightly._ _

__//Old friend?// he questioned there, waiting for the permission to search, to confirm who this was._ _

__//Well, I think I am,// Qui-Gon replied wryly, even as he let down more of his shields, letting Plo into his mind, not resisting in the slightest._ _

__That was the last bit Plo needed to know, to be certain, and he did not even probe once he had access, pulling back._ _

__"Old friend, indeed!" His taloned fingers squeezed carefully. "The Force has been kind to us, Qui-Gon, though it will not be very easy for you."_ _

__Qui-Gon blinked, having expected a rather more intense prodding, but not displeased at Plo's decision. "I am not displeased at a second chance at life -- but I am very concerned about what the hell has happened since I departed reality," he admitted, the tone of Plo's 'not very easy for you' even more concerning._ _

__Anakin did not let himself stagger, or sway, at Master Plo's pronouncement and acceptance, but he was so very, very relieved. He took the steps he needed to get to the berth, then, his fingers curving around Master Qui-Gon's shoulder._ _

__"It has been literal _haran_ in many ways, to borrow the words of our men," Plo told Qui-Gon, even as he took his hands back and drew up the energy of healing, to impart more aid to his friend. It was not what he specialized in, but he could do more than either Jedi present could have. "I will brief you, if you wish, but not until after you rest once more and I give you what aid I can. My unit will be fine even if I wait a bit longer here."_ _

__"I can tell him, Master Plo," Anakin protested, but he wasn't certain how much he meant the protest, either. He'd been young for some of what led to it, and not in a position to hear most of the politics and things, but... it was Master Qui-Gon, and he wanted to get his point of view in before he heard from the Council instead._ _

__"I despise being coddled," Qui-Gon muttered, and was somehow unsurprised when Kix broke in._ _

__"You said that already, sir, maybe you could just accept the aid offered? You're worse than the General, and I didn't think that _happened_." _ _

__Plo made a small noise. "Medic Kix, I suggest you speak with the medic over in Master Windu's unit, if you need to feel better about the stresses of your duties," he said mildly. He then applied himself to both healing the Jedi and easing him toward a point where trance would come easier._ _

__Only as Qui-Gon went under did he face Anakin's protest. "You can, and should, tell him much of this, but I knew him as a younger man, and there is part of this that needs to be told by one who is a friend, not a child he believed in."_ _

__Anakin blinked as Qui-Gon went unconscious, and then Master Plo spoke to him, and he had to think about it for a little bit before he nodded slowly. "Dooku. I -- you're right, that part shouldn't be me. I get... profane, about that man. Mostly because he was _his_ Master, but that won't help him, will it?" _ _

__"Not at all." Plo rested a hand on the young man's shoulder. "I will be speaking as his friend, Anakin. Not a member of the Council. The losses our generation felt even before the war… they demand I tread softly with him." He shook his head. "I tried, so very hard, to convince my Master to choose _him_ for the Council. I still believe his insight would have gone further than what I offer."_ _

__"You wanted Master Qui-Gon on the Council?" Anakin asked, blinking in shock. But the Council had been so determined against him, had -- and Master Plo almost never had much to say where he could see it, but... "Really?"_ _

__"His views were … contrary to many, but I do find mild conflict of that nature sometimes leads to better choices being made." Plo squeezed once. "Come, let us go elsewhere, while Qui-Gon rests. You can catch me up on events in your sectors."_ _

__"Yes, Master," Anakin agreed, and cast one more look towards his sleeping Finder before he headed out, turning that thought over baffledly._ _

__+++_ _

__Plo assisted Qui-Gon to a set of quarters that had been found, because much of what needed saying would be far too sensitive or upsetting for the vod'e. Kix had agreed, when his scans showed the injuries to be well on the mend._ _

__Once they were inside, Plo insisted Qui-Gon recline on the berth, taking a chair instead._ _

__"Now, do you wish to ask questions, or for me to speak? Anakin wishes to tell you much of this, so I honestly am here to handle a specific part of events."_ _

__Qui-Gon sighed, studying his long-time friend's tusks and posture. "I'll let Anakin tell me most things, then. So it seems to make more sense for you to just tell me whatever it is that's weighing so heavily on you, old friend."_ _

__Plo Koon nodded once, leaning forward, rather than take his passive stance. "The Sith Apprentice that leads the Separatist side of this war, Qui-Gon. It is someone known to us. And it is because of this, I feel, you are here with us. You might have the most chance of stopping him!"_ _

__He reached a hand out, resting it on Qui-Gon's arm. "You recall the disaster at Mandalore? Before the young Duchess's rise?"_ _

__Of course he remembered the disaster there, and on Galidraan. He nodded slowly, his eyes searching Plo's face as he laid one of his hands over Plo's talons, his skin crawling slightly at the utterly serious expression he could read from his friend's body. 'You might have the most chance of stopping him'..._ _

__"I do not know what led him so far from us all. He had already mostly retired to Serenno when we lost you, and he formally renounced the Order shortly after," Plo said, glimpsing that Qui-Gon was following the gist of it. "Count Dooku is Darth Tyranus. He has rallied many systems into a cohesive, strong unit against the Republic, and where his forces go, there is only slaughter. Of the innocents, of the combatants who have no choice on either side, and of hope, in many cases._ _

__"We have been hard-pressed to fight holding actions, as his strategic guidance is unparalleled by many."_ _

__Qui-Gon had barely managed to stifle his shocked noise at 'renounced the Order' -- his Master had _what_? That was a step that hadn't been taken in a long time (Master Altis had separated from them, not renounced them), and for it to have been his Master, who held himself to such a brutally high standard? How cou -- _ _

__His Master, a **Sith**. The horror of that had closed up his throat for a long, long minute, and he shook his head slightly. "I can see why you would say you need me," he finally managed to say, though he wanted to do anything but be calm about this idea. "I'm going to kick his Makashi-loving backside from one end of the galaxy to the other for being this _stupid_." _ _

__Plo could not help but let out a quiet laugh at that. "I felt it best you hear it from me, my friend. And I have no doubt that Dooku will soon regret making such a horrible choice."_ _

__He hadn't been intending to make Plo laugh, but the sound was so rough, seemed so disused, that Qui-Gon was pleased to have done so. His Master, Fallen. His Master more than Fallen, _Sith_. "You're quite right, he is going to," he agreed, reaching up to rake the fingers of one hand through his hair. "Very much." _ _

__"You will have the undying gratitude of millions of men, and the rest of the galaxy, if you can save us his predations," Plo Koon assured him. "Now, let me get one thing straight with you, Qui-Gon, before I leave you to Skywalker's care._ _

__"Our men may not have been born, but they are very much their own, unique selves, and I suggest if you have any issues at all with them that you keep them firmly to yourself. I don't think you'll be the idiot that young Vos was, but I know you attune to the Living Force, and I have no idea what they must feel like to you."_ _

__Qui-Gon blinked, startled, and cocked his head at Plo. What in the name of the Force was his old friend on about? "I haven't yet interacted with them much," he said, "Anakin was unwilling to discuss matters of the war -- reasonably! -- until we were fully certain I was not some kind of trap or scheme, and also I've been in trance since we came aboard this ship. They all blaze with life, why would I have any trouble with them?"_ _

__'Were not born'... what?_ _

__"Oh good." Plo leaned back then, taking a more relaxed posture. "The Vod'e are clones, all of them. Anakin is fully able to tell you that story; it was your padawan that mostly unraveled their origins for us. I tend to be a bit protective over them, as Anakin is. Obi-Wan, I am certain, would absolutely do anything for his people, and Secura is as committed to hers. There are others who are intrinsically bound to their men, but not a few Jedi are very undeserving of the initial loyalty of the men, in my opinion."_ _

__"Clones?" Qui-Gon blinked in shock and some dismay at the idea, but he listened intently to his old friend's words. "No, you said Anakin would tell me, and I will wait for him to do so. I may be dismayed at the idea of cloning on such a scale, but it is obviously not their fault or responsibility. '...the initial loyalty of the men'?"_ _

__"They are very much geared to being loyal to their Jedi. Mostly." He smiled, recalling his own Wolfpack, and how they had resisted him at first. But then, Wolffe was unusual in many ways. "They do learn. If you wish to know the true measure of any Jedi among us… listen to the Vod'e. Though I suggest brushing up on Mando'a; many of us have encouraged them continuing to use it as their language to give them one more step of freedom."_ _

__"...I don't like what I'm hearing, Plo," Qui-Gon told him, " -- about the Order and our fellows, not these brave young men -- but I will keep that in mind. It shouldn't take long to recall my Mando'a, it was designed to be easy to learn, after all."_ _

__"I think it will not take you long to see much of what I am," Plo promised him, before standing. "Now, let me go find my _ad_ before he manages to anger one of the others and start an incident." There was amusement in his voice as he reached down to grip Qui-Gon's shoulder. "Trust in Anakin, and… see if you might help him find an outlet for his temper? It's his one greatest flaw as a Jedi."_ _

__"Your son, is it?" Qui-Gon asked, his head tilting in amusement, before that mention of Ani drew his focus and his attention. "I saw an edge of temper when I found him, but how could the boy not have one, with the life he had lived? It still plagues him?"_ _

__"And expresses itself at the most inopportune times, my friend," Plo said. "Yes, my son. They are all my sons, after all, but Wolffe… he and I have forged a strong bond in this time of pain."_ _

__"Mmm. I will do what I can -- what he will let me -- to help him," Qui-Gon agreed, before recalling something Ahsoka had said. "And now the reason your unit is called the Wolfpack makes a little more sense, if its commander is 'Wolffe'."_ _

__If Plo was denying the Code so completely as to claim these men as his sons... that told him much about both how bad things must be, and how strongly Plo loved them. Loved them, and refused to deny it. Good._ _

__"You have usually had a habit of getting your way. Keep at it." Plo left him then, knowing he needed to get back to his own men, and leave Anakin to see to the rest of this._ _

__+++_ _

__Anakin saw Master Plo and Wolffe back off, then headed for the quarters Master Plo had mentioned tucking Master Qui-Gon into, wanting -- needing -- to see him again._ _

__Qui-Gon looked up, still seething at his master being an idiot. "Anakin." He pushed his anger down so he could listen._ _

__"Hello, Master," Anakin said softly, coming to sit down on the end of the bed. The feel of his Finder's presence was riled, more like his own than Obi-Wan's ever was, and that was... oddly comforting. "I -- I'm sorry you ever had to find that out, Master."_ _

__"It's alright, Anakin. I'll deal with him shortly." Qui-Gon reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "Plo left the rest to you. Save an impassioned warning to me about the men."_ _

__Anakin couldn't help a smile at the 'impassioned warning', nodding slightly. "Master Plo would, of course," he said, before that 'deal with him shortly' made his eyes narrow with worry. Master Qui-Gon was still hurt, and if Maul had been able to do that to him... "Master... the Count can keep Obi-Wan and I _both_ off of him -- more than that, hand us both our _shebs_ and escape without much of an injury at all." _ _

__"I appreciate the warning," Qui-Gon said. "But he will not be allowed to continue without facing me. And I have words neither of you do to hit him with."_ _

__That was the edge he remembered hearing when Master Qui-Gon was angry, but he still worried, very much, about Master Qui-Gon facing the Count... and he couldn't imagine what words could make any impact on that man -- but his Finder's voice was utterly resolute. "If you say so, Master._ _

__"Where should I start filling you in?"_ _

__"As much as you know from my supposed death that pertains to the war," he said, settling down to listen._ _

__Anakin nodded, taking a breath, and something of the boy he used to be bubbled up inside him. He really wanted to see Master Qui-Gon's face about what he'd managed, and besides, it would be good to start off with something fun, and just a little bit playful and wild._ _

__"I guess I ought to start with the rest of that fight, then..."_ _

__"I seem to recall you and a ship."_ _

__"You did tell me to get in it and stay there, Master," Anakin agreed, dipping his head for a moment. "I didn't _mean_ to start the engines when I was trying to find the fire controls to knock out the droidekas..." _ _

__He got a touch of a smile, so he went on, telling Master Qui-Gon all about his work with Artoo, the trouble of getting into the ship, let alone getting out of it -- but oh, once he'd had control it had been so much fun!_ _

__That had ended pretty quickly, though, when they got back on the ground and he knew, just _knew_ , that something was wrong. He'd gone looking, with two of the palace guard, and he'd found... "Master Obi-Wan was in the heart of the power plant, with your lightsaber and blood everywhere. I wasn't supposed to be listening, but he told Captain Panaka that the Sith had fallen into the reactor. He thought he'd killed him... but some kind of Sith trick kept him alive. Well, half of him alive, anyway." _ _

__"Half?" He ached for his padawan. They had had fights that ended in death but for Obi-Wan to face it in the aftermath of his death had to have risked Darkness._ _

__"His head and upper body, almost to the hips," Anakin answered, "the rest of him is cybernetic, now. No, Master, don't ask me, I _don't_ understand. The Guard swept the reactor twice, but they couldn't find either piece. I... didn't know what to do, or what was going to happen to me, without you, but he promised he would take care of me. _ _

__"The Chancellor and most of the Council arrived two days later, to take custody of Gunray and Haako. There were... a lot of discussions, and the Council -- unwillingly, and Yoda still hates it -- decided that maybe you'd been right and I ought to be trained."_ _

__"My grandmaster is stubborn and hates being wrong." Qui-Gon gestured for him to continue._ _

__Anakin blinked at that assessment, before it made him smile, just a little, ducking his head again. "I...had never noticed, Master." He paused, found that his fingers were fiddling with a rough spot on one of his knuckles that he hadn't burnished back out yet, and fought with the question he wanted -- and didn't want -- to ask. If he did ask, and Master Qui-Gon said 'no', it --_ _

__\-- well, it would be confirmation that he was more like the rest of the Order than Anakin had thought, and he'd know how to shade the rest of this. He hated thinking that. "If -- if we hadn't lost you then, Master... would you have... done something about my mother?"_ _

__Qui-Gon frowned. "Of course I intended to. I had planned to ask the queen for aid. Your question suggests that they did not."_ _

__Anakin reminded himself, twice, that Qui-Gon was still injured (if not nearly as badly so as he had been) to keep from bodily flinging himself at his Finder in pure, unadulterated relief. He shook his head, hand coming away from his abraded knuckle to push through his hair. "No. I -- was afraid they'd change their minds, if I asked about her. After everything when I was tested, the way they --" he shook his head, breaking away from that memory to admit something else. "I **should** have." _ _

__His mother had paid the price for his fear then, long after he'd managed to reassure himself that Watto had never really hurt them and Master Qui-Gon had reminded him that slaves were symbols of prestige on Tatooine, that Watto would not want to lose her, too. He'd made himself believe she would be okay... and she'd died on Tatooine. Without his ever having seen her healthy or happy again. He'd only seen her pain, and her death..._ _

__"Come here, Ani," Qui-Gon said firmly, opening his arms. "She died, and badly?" he asked gently. Sorrow filled his voice. "I did try for you both."_ _

__Anakin obeyed, carefully, dropping his forehead against Master Qui-Gon's shoulder and wrapping his arms very low around his waist, well away from the wound, the sympathetic sorrow in that voice more than he'd ever heard from anyone but his angel, and he shuddered as he nodded. "Just -- just before the war broke out. The same day, actually, I guess. She -- I **knew** she was in trouble, I _knew_ it, and Obi-Wan wouldn't let me **go** to her!" _ _

__That got another frown and then Qui-Gon went still. "Damn. Anakin, that is likely my fault. I was forever telling Obi-Wan to stop focusing on his premonitions."_ _

__Anakin jerked his head up, staring at Master Qui-Gon in confusion. That... didn't make much sense, but the idea that there might have been some reason more than just Jedi disregard for family, for bonds of blood and love and trust... "What? Why, Master?"_ _

__"Because it was how my Master handled his Seer friend. A reminder that the future was always in motion, and to move forward boldly, unhindered by fear of what might be." Qui-Gon sighed. "Obi-Wan had a bad feeling fairly often."_ _

__"Master," Anakin said quietly, trying to be respectful, "that's really stupid. I hate what I See, most of the time, but that doesn't mean I ought to ignore the warnings. I _couldn't_ ignore those, they hit me every time I tried to sleep, every time I closed my eyes I could feel the pain she was in and he wouldn't. let. me. _go_. No, that stupid trade dispute on Ansion was more important than my mother, I was just anxious about the future, about my next set of senior padawan tests -- please, as though I've **ever** had trouble with practical exams?" _ _

__"I did not say it was right, Ani. I merely told you how he had to endure it from me." He hugged the young man gently. "I never wanted harm to come to her."_ _

__Anakin took a breath, swallowed down the rest of his commentary for that Qui-Gon was actually apologizing (mostly), and for that honest, quiet admission of what he wasn't sure was true from anyone else in the Order, burrowing in against his Finder's chest again._ _

__He'd have to do better about Snips' feelings than he had been, if this kind of stupidity ran in their line. He really hated acting with her the way Obi-Wan did with him, and he caught himself doing it entirely too often. "I... I know, Master. You said you would have gone back, if you'd been there to. That... it helps._ _

__"Master Obi-Wan didn't want me paying too much attention to all of the trials and Senate hearings about what happened, but the Chancellor told me some of it when he'd call for me. I still don't understand how Gunray's at the head of the Trade Federation even now -- I mean, he got you killed, except, apparently not, and nearly my Master and Queen Amidala, too. They trust us to do their negotiating, to do all kinds of things for them... but they wouldn't take a Knight's word under oath as proof?"_ _

__"Political fighting is not my strong suit. I leave that to Adi, for all she tried to drag me into it," Qui-Gon said. "But the chancellor took such interest in you?"_ _

__"Not mine, either. I don't understand it most of the time and a lot of the Senators seem mostly useless," Anakin agreed, then nodded. He tensed a little, not wanting to have Qui-Gon join the list of people who didn't like the closest friendship he had outside of the Order, but answered anyway. "He said I was obviously someone special, and that he felt indebted because of what I'd done for Naboo. ...he's always made time to see me."_ _

__"Interesting. Do continue." Qui-Gon felt the tension but did not comment._ _

__Anakin nodded, breathing out a sigh. "Four trials. Four. And after every one of them, things just got a little more convoluted. We're two years in, so... four years ago, after the last one, Count Dooku started getting involved with a movement to leave the Republic. Back then, his opinion as a former Jedi carried a lot of weight. I couldn't understand why he would have anything to do with the Trade Federation, when they're why we lost you. Actually, I still don't get that, even from a Sith you'd think he'd be angry with them. Anyway. The Trade Federation, his planet, the Techno-Union Army, the Banking Clan, the Commerce Guild, the Corporate Alliance, Geonosis, Hypori, Felucia, Mygeeto, Saleucami, Acherin, a hundred other worlds, they all started trying to leave._ _

__"The Senate absolutely refused, and with the Trade Federation and Techno-Union's reputations for violence, a whole faction of them decided that the Republic was going to need an army. There was a year or so of back and forth debate just about the idea. I thought it was a bad idea at the time, and Padmé -- oh, right. She had two terms as Queen and then they sent her to the Senate -- definitely did. She spent her first year in office fighting the Military Creation Act after someone actually got a bill on the floor."_ _

__"She struck me as one who would stay in the fight," Qui-Gon said. He did catch a faint resonance in the way Anakin said her name._ _

__"She is," Anakin agreed, thinking of his wife with all of his devoted pride. "Brand new to it, and taking on a cause like that. Just before the vote, she'd had to go back to Naboo... and _someone_ tried to kill her as she was landing on Coruscant. They _did_ kill Cordé. She was sure it was Gunray and his friends, the Council's information thought some of her own people trying to kill her -- as _if_ \-- and I guess the Chancellor asked for Jedi protection for her. _ _

__"She wasn't thrilled, but someone suggested Obi-Wan and I, since she knew us, and she stopped protesting. Not that she was any less upset about it."_ _

__"I think I understand that. I believe she is accustomed to handling things herself based on what I saw of her." He had liked her even if she had complicated things._ _

__"That's the truth," Anakin agreed, thinking of all the times she'd gotten herself out of trouble, of her determination to go help his Master, of all the things he loved so completely about her. "I thought she was the most beautiful being I'd ever seen when I was nine -- and then she got _more_ beautiful, in the decade I hadn't seen her. I wouldn't have thought that was possible. That night, a Changeling bounty hunter tried again, this time with Kouhuns. How that droid didn't set off _some_ security system, I still haven't figured out._ _

__"Was Master Obi-Wan always reckless enough to jump out a window on the upper Senatorial apartment levels after a droid two-thirds his size?"_ _

__"Yes." Qui-Gon grinned. "He's utterly reckless and selfless in service to others. I am not surprised to hear that."_ _

__That grin, quick and bright, had Anakin smiling back, as he nodded. "I went after him as quick as I could, and obviously we're both okay, but it was... a little interesting for a few minutes. He actually thought I'd lose someone in Coruscant traffic, as if I don't know every major route on the Temple side of the planet," he muttered, "but we caught up to the Changeling. She was halfway to confessing when a person in Mandalorian armor and jetpack shot her with a lethal saberdart."_ _

__"Obi-Wan would not have been happy to be dealing with such," Qui-Gon mused. "Not after… well, there's history that is more than Jedi and Mando there."_ _

__"His Duchess," Anakin muttered, as Satine was not exactly his favorite person in the galaxy. Padmé liked her, Obi-Wan nearly worshipped her... but he thought she was as much of an idiot as some of the most hidebound Masters were. "And whatever happened back then. There was some trouble figuring out what the dart was -- Dex was actually the one to figure it out. It was from a planet called Kamino, south of the Rishi Maze on the far west edge of the Rim. ...a planet that had been deleted from the Temple archives."_ _

__"Satine, yes," Qui-Gon said, though he let his surprise show that Obi-Wan had let it be seen he cared for the Duchess. Then there was the rest of that, and he smiled for mention of Dex, but the last caught his attention. "Deleted… Tahl, dearest friend, I am so sorry," he said softly as he realized what that meant. "My Master's doing?"_ _

__"That's our best guess," Anakin agreed, nodding, though he was puzzled at why Master Qui-Gon seemed so surprised. "Though it might have been Master Sifo-Dyas' doing, too. Nobody can really tell, between how long it'd been done and how well. But my bet is on the Count."_ _

__"If Sifo were involved, than Jocasta herself would have to be as well; those three were as close a set as… well, Micah, Tahl, and I." And here he was, the only survivor of that trio. And should he be?_ _

__Anakin blinked, tensing at that idea. Maybe the Council had already had that thought and investigated it? Master Qui-Gon didn't sound as though it were any kind of a secret, so other people should have known, and wondered... "That's something I may have to talk to Master Obi-Wan about sooner rather than not. I remember him saying she'd brushed him off about the planet being missing. And -- no, never mind, out of order, sorry. The Council decided Obi-Wan should see if the assassin had gone back to the weapon's planet of origin, while the Chancellor twisted Padmé's arm into returning to Naboo -- quieter, more peaceful, easier to know if something was coming, I think he was thinking -- with me to guard her."_ _

__"Oh I have no doubt how your mission ended up," Qui-Gon said, slyly teasing the young man. "Given the experiences I saw with Obi-Wan and Satine on such a mission." He was not condemning Anakin at all, nor did he hold negativity for his former padawan's trials with the Duchess._ _

__That gentle, wryly affectionate teasing, the utter _calm_ he could feel about the idea... Nothing Anakin had experienced had prepared him for that, and he froze in place, his eyes searching his Finder's face in pure shock. Every other Master in the galaxy -- including his **own** , at times -- had slapped at him about his attachment to even his Padawan, let alone what they would say about the secret he kept buried second-deepest in his heart. And Master Qui-Gon didn't -- wasn't -- _ _

__Qui-Gon gently squeezed Anakin close. "Still? Well, as long as you are managing to keep your mind on duty, most of the time," he said as he puzzled through that shock. "I am scarcely the one to scold. And I'm certain you've heard enough of that from numerous others."_ _

__Anakin leaned into that reassuring embrace, shifting to get a little closer, confusion and relief coiling around each other in his mind. "...scarcely one to scold, Master?" he asked, trying to determine how far he could trust his Finder in this, with this, with _Padmé_...._ _

__"Obi-Wan's never told you my worst moments, then," Qui-Gon said ever so softly. "I mentioned Tahl? You may know a Mon Cal named Bant? Her master. Tahl was my age-mate, tall as I was, as gifted as I in most ways, more in others… and over the course of our lives, I was patently in love with her without realizing it until far, far too late._ _

__"When I came face to face with losing her… I lost sight of anything but vengeance, and nearly chose the Dark path. We had pledged ourselves to one another, just that same week." Qui-Gon kept his voice low, but he did not try to hide it from Anakin._ _

__Anakin nodded at the mention of Knight Eerin -- she'd been one of the ones that had helped get him used to the Temple, and she'd often stayed with Master Obi-Wan when his presence in the Force was ... raw._ _

__The thought of a woman with his Finder's height made him blink for a moment -- Padmé was, well, Padmé, ferocious and determined all out of proportion to her delicate size -- but then Master Qui-Gon said _that_. Just came out and admitted that he had been in love (and with another Jedi, at that). _ _

__He shuddered at the mention of 'lost sight of anything but vengeance' -- he knew that, he _knew_ how that felt so completely. He hated what he'd done, was shamed to the core by it... _ _

__Wait. Had he heard that last right? He stared at Master Qui-Gon's tunic rather than move enough to see his face, replaying 'pledged ourselves to each other' in complete shock. 'That same week' -- oh, Force, if anything had happened to Padmé _that week_... he'd still be burning the worlds down. Nothing could have pulled him back, not... _ _

__"It is a hard thing, to love, and to be a Jedi," Qui-Gon rumbled at him. "I thought… I thought it was Obi-Wan that stayed my hand, by calling out to me. But it was actually Tahl, her presence in the Force lingering, trying to keep me from betraying all she had ever been, and losing myself._ _

__"I know I changed, drastically, after I lost her. Much as Obi-Wan did, when he chose duty over the Duchess, I pushed myself into my mission as a Jedi. But Tahl was right. If I had let our love be the catalyst for my Fall… it would have insulted her memory, tarnished it."_ _

__Anakin flinched violently, right hand clenching in the covers of the berth, those words hitting worse than an electrowhip or even Dooku's Force lightning, the thought of insulting, tarnishing his mother's memory -- the way he knew he had, but having it said so bluntly -- another layer of shame to what he'd done._ _

__"Anakin?" There was a soft, worried note in Qui-Gon's voice, before a hand came, and one bent finger caught his chin, gently, like a father, trying to bring Anakin's face up. "Ani, talk to me?"_ _

__He didn't know how to fight that touch, or the voice. Panic chattered in the back of his mind at the idea of telling any Jedi, but this -- this was Master Qui-Gon, who had had faith in him when no-one else did, who admitted to loving and to temptation, to... He swallowed air the first time his mouth opened, fear and panic whipsawing back and forth, before the gentle, steady care and worry in his Finder's blue eyes made him nod a little. "I -- it -- Mom. Being on Naboo, the visions got worse, until I was -- if Padmé hadn't declared she was going with me, I would have abandoned her."_ _

__Abandoned his duty, abandoned the woman he loved to danger, but he hadn't been able to think. "It... Tuskens had taken her. When my visions started. When I found them, found her... she was -- " The image of her slammed up in his memory, behind his eyes, and lashed across the connection between them before he could stop it._ _

__Qui-Gon's eyes flared wide, and heated anger rose in the connection, anger at those beings for such cruelty. "Oh, Ani…." he whispered, trying to bring his temper down. He whispered the impressions of Shmi he had taken back to fight those images. His sight of her as a strong, noble woman, full of quiet compassion and his respect for her love of the child she let go to a better place._ _

__Anakin heard himself whimper too late to stop it, and he latched desperately onto those images, Mom alive and whole and well and strong, quietly proud and gracious and loving, as he tried to somehow get closer to Master Qui-Gon. He held onto them, trying to build a shield against his pain and rage with them... even as another part of him soaked in Master Qui-Gon's anger, needing the reassurance that he wasn't completely a failure for feeling so passionately._ _

__He hadn't told him everything, though, yet, and he -- panic chewed on him again, but he held on. "I couldn't heal her. I -- there wasn't -- she was too -- all my power, and I _couldn't save her_!" _ _

__Qui-Gon shifted, by Force and muscle alike, pulling Anakin into a cradling hold, curled around him much as he had curled around his dear padawan a few times early in their partnership to ease painful moments. "I am listening, and you have my word, it goes nowhere but between us."_ _

__Anakin shuddered as he was gathered in close, protected and somehow supported in a way he couldn't, quite, ever remember being, and he clung tighter. "I... I think I just sat there a while, but then... I needed to take Mom to her husband. And there were Tuskens at the door. I -- I felt so empty, so numb. Nothing mattered, but then... I got... angry isn't... I just wanted them all dead. Really I wanted them to hurt, but dead would do, and I... I don't remember much of the _doing_ of it? _ _

__"Just how strong I felt, how easy everything was..."_ _

__"Oh my Anakin," Qui-Gon said softly. "Such a hard thing to live with."_ _

__That... that wasn't anything he had expected, even with Qui-Gon's hold never faltering, and he felt his entire body shake as he choked on a sob, then another -- and then the simoon of his pain and grief and rage broke through his walls and he lost track of everything but knowing he was held and not condemned by the man he had worshipped most._ _

__Qui-Gon crooned softly, wishing he had been there for this gifted young man. He was certain Obi-Wan would have done his best, but his beloved Padawan had been very Temple-bound._ _

__The constant, unintrusive press of love and concern against his mind helped Anakin start to pull himself out of being trapped in grief and shame, and while he felt like a wring-out sponge, he also felt... peaceful, in a way that he hadn't in... years. "I... I'm sorry, Master. I know I -- "_ _

__"Shh. You had a Dark moment. Many Jedi do even if they refuse to admit it. You came back." Qui-Gon pressed his lips to Anakin's hair. "Try to forgive yourself and use the memory to shield against a repeat."_ _

__He wasn't sure he knew how to forgive himself. Qui-Gon soothing him, though, not.. he nodded. "I -- I'll try, Master. I didn't mean to fall apart on you like that. It just... Padmé knows, because she was there, and the Chancellor coaxed it out of me, but I haven't -- keeping anyone else from knowing has..."_ _

__"Not even Obi-Wan knows? And you still his padawan then?" Qui-Gon frowned. "That is not very good at all. On his part for failing to notice the turmoil."_ _

__Anakin made a quietly dark noise, shaking his head. Obi-Wan was the _last_ person he would have told, after his screaming fit at him on the Lartie. "By the end of the next two days, we all had more important things to worry about than my problems, Master," he shrugged slightly. _ _

__"...Padmé _had_ told me 'no', Master. She said that trying to live with a relationship we couldn't be open about would destroy us both, she wouldn't let me do that to myself, or her..." _ _

__"Just be the Jedi you must through this crisis," Qui-Gon advised. "And after, I will introduce you to Djinn, if he's still around. His sect understands."_ _

__"I met Master Altis," Anakin replied, "and a couple of the others of his sect -- Callista Ming, for one. They helped us get a Republic agent out of trouble . Sometimes... hoping we'll make it long enough, that I'll get Ahsoka to her trials, so I can tell the Council I'm leaving... is what keeps me going._ _

__"But I can't, **won't** , leave my men. Not ever. Not until they're safe." _ _

__"Admirable." Qui-Gon smiled at him. "Now, back to this war…"_ _

__Anakin nodded, breathing for a moment, focusing. "I had to get all of this from Master Obi-Wan after I was back on my feet and through the other half of my Trial, but it's clear. He went to Kamino, and was greeted by the control tower for the capital city. They invited him to land, and he was met by one of the Kaminoans, Taun We. She said that she was very pleased that a Jedi had finally come to them, they had started to believe they had been forgotten by the Jedi and the Republic."_ _

__"Interesting." He found that slightly disturbing._ _

__"That's sort of what Master Obi-Wan said, I think, at least to himself," Anakin answered. "He is good at bluffing, sometimes, so they showed him the facility, what they were doing... explained that ten -- twelve, now -- years ago, Master Sifo-Dyas came to them and asked them to clone an army for the Republic. Things the Council have gotten from them after... Somehow, Master Sifo-Dyas made arrangements to pay for them, and once he had their agreement, he said he would send an acceptable 'template' for the soldiers. And he did... supposedly, but that would have been after Master Sifo-Dyas was killed._ _

__"And given who that template was, I still don't understand it. Master Obi-Wan has... had words about how unlikely it is that Jango Fett, of all men, would have agreed -- and kicked himself a thousand times that he didn't remember the name when he first met him in Tipoca City."_ _

__"That is very difficult to understand given my Master's history, but you said Sifo was involved too." Qui-Gon let himself grieve the older master a moment. "Curious."_ _

__Anakin nodded. "That's what Master Obi-Wan said, when he had time to think about it. He met with the Kaminoan prime minister, found out some of what I told you, and asked to meet the man that had been the... 'template'. They talked, he saw the armor that we'd seen... and met the boy, Boba. One unaltered, perfect clone of Jango to raise as his son._ _

__"I wish someone could reach that kid, something terrible's going to happen to him." He shook his head, pulling away from that dark certainty, and refocused. "He wouldn't admit to anything, of course. Master Obi-Wan went out to talk to the Council, and they asked him to bring the bounty hunter back to Coruscant._ _

__"I'm sure you're stunned to hear that he wasn't interested in that?"_ _

__"Oh I imagine not." Qui-Gon smirked. "At least Obi-Wan had experience fighting Mandalorian warriors."_ _

__"He mentioned something like that," Anakin agreed, enjoying the sight of that smirk. It looked like the one he remembered from Qui-Gon getting the best of Watto, finally. "Their ship and the boy, though, made things hot enough that Fett got away, but Obi-Wan managed to tag the ship with a beacon. He followed them to Geonosis, saw the legions of droids the foundries there were turning out, and snuck in behind them, where he heard the entirety of the Separatist leadership arguing back and forth. Trying to hammer out the details of their treaty, with the Count at the head of it._ _

__"He did hear that it was Gunray trying to kill Padmé again, among some other things. He slipped back out to report that he'd lost Fett, and what he'd seen, what he'd heard them planning... but his long range transmitter was out, and the amount of time he had to spend hunting for my comm, to get me to retransmit it -- they picked up the transmissions, and came hunting him. They captured him._ _

__"Artoo had grabbed the message, and I sent it on to the Council, watched it with them." A tremor started down his back, remembering seeing Obi-Wan deflecting droid fire, the shape of droidekas, the sudden destruction of Arfour and his ship that had cut off the transmission... and the helplessness of knowing that again, there was nothing he could do._ _

__"Right after losing your mother. Oh Anakin." He hugged the young man gently. He tried hard to focus on Anakin, not his fear over his padawan._ _

__Anakin nodded, quick, rough jerk of his head. "Master Windu said that I had to stay with Padmé, to protect her. That they would help Obi-Wan -- for me to stay away."_ _

__He hadn't known what to do but obey, not then, not with so much blood fresh on his hands and his failure to save his mother. He'd been as close to paralyzed as he ever had in his life... but Padmé had been there. Saving him even then._ _

__"Padmé knew they'd never make it in time to help him, and Geonosis isn't even a parsec from Tatooine. She decided that she was going to go rescue Obi-Wan, and if I wanted to keep her safe, I was going to have to come along."_ _

__"That little minx!" Qui-Gon laughed in delight. "Leaving you no choice but to go. Good on her."_ _

__Anakin nodded, a smile flashing over his lips at the memory of her determination, her absolute insistence. "You _have_ met her, Master. She's... more incredible, now, than she was then. She wanted to try to negotiate for Master Obi-Wan's release, but we were attacked before we had a chance to talk to anyone. I.... don't recommend a running fight in a foundry, especially against beings with wings. _ _

__"My lightsaber got cut in half," he ducked his head, just a little, "and then Fett was on me. Artoo had managed to rescue Padmé from what the one drone tried, and... we went to see Count Dooku. Who had, apparently already been talking to Obi-Wan -- and really, really pissing him off._ _

__"The Count wanted Padmé to join his alliance, offered to keep Obi-Wan and I alive -- oh, right, he'd been convicted of espionage, which I guess was even true, for once -- if she would... when she wouldn't agree to that, he decided to throw me in beside my Master, and her as well, because Gunray had already paid for her death._ _

__"Nothing political about it, _haran_ , she was slicing holes in his arguments every time she opened her mouth." _ _

__"I think I am growing ever angrier with my master." Qui-Gon shook his head. "Damnable prideful man!"_ _

__"You're not kidding _there_ , Master," Anakin agreed. Looking at Qui-Gon, right now, feeling the bright blaze of his presence, that protective anger... he couldn't imagine how that Sith had ever taught this man, who had so much compassion, so much care... "The Geonosians apparently prefer their executions to be by giant beasts. We were dealing pretty well with those, so they added battle droids. Not so much fun to deal with, without a lightsaber, Master. Though Padmé had gotten one of the guards' weapons, that helped a lot. _ _

__"Then all of a sudden, Master Windu's lightsaber ignited, up in the box with Fett and the Count and Gunray and the others. His... and a ring of others. He brought a hundred into the arena, to get us out."_ _

__Qui-Gon nodded at that. "Must have stripped the Temple to do it."_ _

__"He came pretty close," Anakin agreed. "I never heard all of what was said, but the Count must have been warned they were coming. He put four or five thousand droids into the arena not even a minute behind Master Windu showing himself._ _

__"It -- it got... very bad, Master. There were... twenty or so? of us left alive when _he_ paused the droids to offer to let us live if we would surrender. Master Windu pretty much told him where to shove it." That was one of the few times he'd agreed completely with Mace Windu about anything. "Then Padmé heard the Larties coming in. How she does that, I don't know... but it was Master Yoda, and all of these people-probably-human in almost identical armor. They dropped between us and the droids, and pulled us out."_ _

__So many dead. Qui-Gon felt the pain of it and closed his eyes. How many friends were now gone?_ _

__"And that was the start of the actual war?"_ _

__Anakin nodded, trying to shift to hold his Finder instead of be held -- he had known many of the dead, cared for them, even, but he had never made friends easily among the Temple-raised. Qui-Gon, who had spent decades with them, would feel the hurt far more than he did. He was also willing to take the offered out of _not_ having to discuss the rest of that battle, his own idiocy and the price he'd paid for it, if Master Qui-Gon didn't press about it. "Yes. Almost the entire leadership managed to escape us, and they hit half-a-dozen systems almost simultaneously barely a day later, and it's been full-scale war ever since."_ _

__"Dooku forced the first move." He let Anakin offer comfort. "Always did in our games."_ _

__Anakin smiled, surprised and pleased, as Master Qui-Gon actually let him help, let him support him, and held on a little more. "Everything fell so perfectly into place for him, to set things exactly the way he wanted... it's frustrating."_ _

__The elder man nodded. "But that is his way. He is a strategist. Take all the pieces, adjust them as needed, and then move. It's one reason he was furious and disaffected after the Massacre. He didn't have all the pieces, and because of his leadership, it went terribly wrong. One more reason it is so difficult for me to understand why he is actively shaping this war to kill so many."_ _

__Anakin shook his head. "I don't know, Master. I... just don't. I never met him, before Geonosis, and the times we've had to deal with him personally..." his lips skimmed back from his teeth for a moment, "haven't given me a great opinion of him. Let's leave it at that._ _

__"Oh! Um, he uses Force Lightning, these days, Master, and it packs a _hell_ of a punch. I'm really tired of getting hit by it, too." _ _

__"Then you should deflect it better," Qui-Gon said, a teasing note in his voice, mostly because he had to… or he was going to scream. Force Lightning, a forbidden application of the Force… and a certain sign that the Fall was complete._ _

__From anyone else, Anakin would have snarled at that, at the implication... from Qui-Gon, with that quiet teasing and all the grief he could feel, he just shrugged one shoulder slightly. "Probably so," he had to agree, "but I'm generally trying to do at least two other things._ _

__"At least he hasn't taught it to that pet assassin of his yet, _Ventress_ with that damned power would not be fun." _ _

__"Oh? Who is this? While it's obvious he doesn't follow anything I knew about him to this point, he had said his last padawan would be his last. Yet your words imply this assassin is Force-Sensitive as well." He wondered, privately, if his Master had actually fouled Komari's ability to be a true Jedi, and had been uncertain at the time of her being barred the Trials how much of her inappropriate behavior Dooku had actually warned her on prior to that point._ _

__"Mmm. Asajj Ventress. We just recently figured out that she's Dathomiri, but either the zabrak blood expresses differently in women or she doesn't have much of it. She has a couple of tattoos like Maul, and she's far stronger than I'd like. When he got her, or why, I have no idea._ _

__"She and I really don't like each other, but there's this thing where she keeps _killing my men_. Gave me the scar, too." He shrugged a little. That, he didn't mind nearly as much as he minded the one on Cody's face, Wolffe's, the rest of the men she'd maimed or disfigured or killed. "She's a tricky, vicious, ruthless, underhanded, conniving anooba of an assassin, as far as I'm concerned, and why Obi-Wan wastes his breath with her I will _never_ understand." _ _

__Qui-Gon digested all of that, then cocked his head at Anakin. "Flirting? He finds it a welcome distraction from the seriousness of actively trying to avoid being killed. Or having to consider killing as the only next step," he said, thinking back over the years, and the way Obi-Wan had been handled the violence of their lives._ _

__"... _that's_ why he does it?! And sweet saints, yes, flirting to set the kriffing decking on fire," Anakin agreed, muttering. _ _

__"Add in that he might see her as a lineage 'relation' and feel a need to learn if she can be pulled out of the dark… I'm certain it is disconcerting." Qui-Gon shifted slightly, getting more comfortable. "Speaking of my former padawan, when do you expect to see him next?"_ _

__He really, desperately wanted to lay eyes on Obi-Wan, just to know for himself that his … that the man the boy had become was truly safe._ _

__"He's mostly through a campaign on Lorishaan," Anakin answered, "and we've finally got this system back into safe hands. We ought to have authorization to get back to the Open Circle Fleet and the 212th soon, so, one hyperspace trip after the Council decides my assessment of the situation on the ground is solid? Not long, though."_ _

__"Ahh, good." Qui-Gon had been resisting the need to reach for the bond in his mind, not wanting to hurt Obi-Wan in any way. That his thoughts kept turning to the young man more than solving the issue of the war was his guilty secret._ _

__He just wanted that grounding back, that connection that had been built over twelve, hard years._ _

__Anakin cuddled him in a little closer, somehow, feeling that need to see Obi-Wan again that rippled so strongly across their connection. "When we get there, I'll get him to come meet us on the _Twilight_ , and go harangue his Admiral for everything his reports _don't_ tell me about what happens on missions we're not together." _ _

__"Creatively editing his mission reports still?" Qui-Gon smiled and shook his head. "He learned that one honestly, I fear."_ _

__"You, Master?" Anakin asked, startled, before he had to think about the way Master Qui-Gon had handled things... "No, never mind that, I believe it after all. And yes. Yes he does. Getting him to admit he got so much as a scratch..."_ _

__That got a frown. "That is a habit I desperately tried to break him of. But he seemed to feel he had to protect me from knowing it!"_ _

__Anakin sighed. "I don't know if that makes dealing with it better or worse. I mean, at least it's not just me he hides it from? But at the same time..." he shrugged slightly, worrying a little more over his Master, now. He was used to doing that, but the idea that his Master was as bad about hiding his injuries as he was... that bothered him._ _

__"I'll work on him, if he'll listen to his old master at all," Qui-Gon promised, a flicker of worry for how this reunion might go._ _

__"If there's anyone in the galaxy, Master, that he will listen to, it's you," Anakin replied._ _

__Qui-Gon didn't know about that, but it was a hope._ _

__+++_ _

__Cody had only just gotten his general to promise to go to quarters, to use the shower, and then sleep when the comm officer called out to Obi-Wan._ _

__"General, we have General Skywalker comming for you from his ship, inbound," Freq told Obi-Wan._ _

__Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose, then walked over to stand impassively in holo range. "Anakin?" He knew he probably looked exhausted, but he tried to put on a confident air._ _

__"Master," Anakin answered, not liking how his Master looked, "got a landing bay for me? One you can be in by the time I get there, or shortly thereafter?"_ _

__"We just came through a massive battle. Unfortunately, yes, I have room for you in my landing bay," Obi-Wan said, trying hard not to think of how many men were lost in the ships during air support. He could see each of them in the corner of his mind, see the squads and batches that would be pressing on short of loved ones. "And yes, I will be there."_ _

__"I'm sorry, Master. Then I'll see you in a few," Anakin answered, feeling the same stab of pain that had flashed across his Master's eyes, the set of his lips. Losing the men was always the hardest part. Dealing with the missing ships, the lost art, the personality of each crew... that sucked, too. "Skywalker out."_ _

__Once the comm was off, he looked back and up at Master Qui-Gon, to see what his Finder was thinking. Obi-Wan looked like Obi-Wan, to him, but to Master Qui-Gon, who had last seen the still-braided padawan only days ago for him?_ _

__Qui-Gon had not been able to take his eyes from the holo. His padawan, grown from a small teen to a gangly young man to… elegance. Of course he'd had his full height when Qui-Gon nearly died, but he'd been thinner, not yet filled out. And the beard! It completely transformed his looks._ _

__The master Jedi ached, though, to hear the pain, to see the fatigue in the lines and eyes that the holo had not been able to hide from him._ _

__"I knew he would be a great Jedi," Qui-Gon said, realizing Anakin was studying him, and seeking to dissuade any thoughts of impropriety. Because they were there. The feelings that Qui-Gon had wrestled with as unseemly, improper… maybe even unwanted, as Obi-Wan had shown all signs of growing past a crush at a younger age… were all still there._ _

__Anakin had been watching, though, as closely as he knew how to, and didn't for a moment believe that was all that he was seeing. He'd seen it on the ship, even headed towards the Palace... but why Master Obi-Wan didn't believe it, he didn't know. "He is," he agreed, "but that's not all you see, either. Master."_ _

__He left it at that, for the moment, his eyes swinging back to the ship as they drew within a few ship-lengths, paying attention to getting settled in the bay -- more because there were always troopers moving in the bay than any need to worry about the ship. The ship, he could handle. People... those were less predictable. Tricky._ _

__"He looks exhausted," Qui-Gon admitted to. He left it at that as he saw the layout of this ship was nearly identical to the one they had left, though the art on those ships present was, of course, different. One thing about meeting more of Anakin's legion had been getting reacquainted with the Mandalorian tradition of art, and appreciating the beauty they made._ _

__"He would be," Anakin agreed, before locking the ship down into place and shutting her down, then he uncoiled from the seat to head back to the landing ramp. He stayed on it, though, not coming down off of it completely, and waited for his Master to pick up on the clue. Or for him to need to say something, one of the two._ _

__Obi-Wan had waved Cody off for this trip to meet Anakin, promising to keep his other promise as early as was actually feasible, and taken off at a brisk pace for the landing bay. His men snapped to for him, and he gave them an appreciative wave, relieved to see that the bay was minimally staffed, as he had suggested._ _

__It had been an ugly campaign._ _

__Qui-Gon, for his part, kept his presence restrained, waiting -- if impatiently -- for Anakin to handle breaking the news._ _

__Obi-Wan privately wondered what had gone wrong this time, that Anakin brought the news himself and wished to speak to him on the _Twilight_. He made his way over, looking at his former padawan before frowning as something… felt odd. He shook off that feeling, though, as he was overly tired and knew it._ _

__"Anakin," he greeted._ _

__"Master," Anakin answered, stretching out his hand to his Master and brother. "Come aboard -- no, _no_. Ahsoka's fine, and I don't have bad news from the Council, either. This... it's something good. Just not something for anyone else to see, or hear." _ _

__"Alright," Obi-Wan said, appreciating the reassurance. Maybe Anakin was finally going to tell him about Padmé and he being in a relationship?_ _

__Anakin saw the touch of hope shade his Master's eyes, the stronger relief, and one corner of his mouth quirked before he closed the ramp, both of them standing in the back compartment. Whatever his Master was hoping to hear, what he had to say was definitely nowhere on the list of possibilities. "A few days ago, on Minwan, Ahsoka felt the Force pulling at her and ran off on a little scouting mission. What she found -- there's really no way to explain, and I was... probably not the nicest being in the galaxy to deal with, until Master Plo got to us and could use _his_ gifts to check." _ _

__Obi-Wan watched him, eyes gone narrow almost from the first mention of Ahsoka running off, and they only narrowed further to hear Master Plo had been involved. "And?"_ _

__"And Master Plo believes, _I_ believe... that the impossible happened, and the Force gave us someone **back** , Master," Anakin answered, his hand still holding on to Obi-Wan's. "Someone we've both missed terribly." _ _

__The mask of absolute politeness descended then, and Obi-Wan knew it. He could not afford to hope too much; it only ever ended in pain. There was no one to find, no one that he and Anakin both knew._ _

__"Do be succinct, Anakin. I'm tired," he said, standing on that excuse to get the Knight to say it outright._ _

__"You're not tired, you're exhausted," Anakin retorted, hating that mask, _hating_ it, holding on a little harder. His Master glared without the mask ever lifting, and he half-sighed. "It's -- " _ _

__"Me," Qui-Gon said as he slipped around the bulkhead he'd been unabashedly lurking behind and walked closer. His eyes swept past Anakin to his exhausted no-longer-a-padawan, interrupting rather than make Anakin keep trying to contend with Obi-Wan's stubbornness and disbelief. Those two had enough troubles -- and he was worried about those -- without adding that. "Dear one."_ _

__Obi-Wan physically staggered, catching himself on the ship's wall, his eyes going wide with disbelief, shock, and… wistful hoping? He knew he should denounce this as a trick, but he needed it to be real in ways that he really didn't want to prod. Anakin said it was true. Plo said it was true._ _

__And if there was a Padawan stronger in the Living Force currently than Ahsoka, Obi-Wan was a shaak herder; it made sense for her to be the one to find his Master._ _

__Yet… this was not how his life worked. He knew his destiny was bound in sadness. How many pyres had he stood beside, literally or figuratively?_ _

__Anakin didn't have to be told to move, no matter how much he wanted to be the one staying with his Master -- right now that wasn't his place, and wasn't where he was needed. Master Qui-Gon was beside him in less than a heartbeat, and he shifted out of the way._ _

__Qui-Gon hadn't seen Obi-Wan reel like that in... well, decades here, he supposed, and the feeling of that disbelief and shock hammering across the bond made his chest hurt even as he slid one arm behind his -- his former -- padawan's back to support him. "Shh... shh, dear one, it's all right," he murmured, as he let his shields lapse and his presence spill out, let himself reach across the bond between them._ _

__It was really, truly Qui-Gon Jinn, and he was right there in Obi-Wan's mind, soothing every shard of the bond that had snapped back at him in that awful, final moment. He hesitated one moment, two… and then he gave in and pushed into a desperate, clinging hug. Propriety be damned. It wasn't as if Anakin wasn't completely violating the Code, even if he wouldn't admit it!_ _

__"Master," he whispered once he was tucked in against that strong chest. It didn't matter he was a master in his own right, sitting on the Council._ _

__//Yes, dear one,// Qui-Gon agreed, shifting to wrap around his padawan as tightly as he could, holding him against his body, hand sliding up into his hair without any real intent, //yes, I'm here.//_ _

__//Master.// Obi-Wan let his side of the bond flare wide, and accept the healing it brought, to have the other half there. Twelve years apart against twelve years together, but in that moment, Obi-Wan felt like maybe, just maybe, he might find a way to fix everything again. He'd let the guilt of regaining a loved one creep in later, when his men suffered such losses daily. For now, he would accept joy._ _

__//Yes,// Qui-Gon murmured, just as soft, as he opened up to his padawan's mind, feeling the ragged, damaged edges of what on Obi-Wan's side had shattered. He was far from pleased at that, and set himself to soothing it, to holding his padawan close. He had been so worried for his Obi-Wan, his greatest pride and his dearest friend, since Anakin had told him of what had happened... and now, he had him safe again. //Yes, my padawan.//_ _

__Anakin tapped the ramp open just enough to go over the top of it and drop down outside, sealed it, and went to find Cody._ _

__Obi-Wan knew he shouldn't be clinging like a youngling, and yet… he tightened his hands in Qui-Gon's robe, eyes closed, and just pushed hard into the hold around his body and his mind._ _

__Qui-Gon just held on, giving Obi-Wan all of the reassurance he could with his presence. Obi-Wan, he had picked up from Anakin, so badly needed someone to support _him_. That, Qui-Gon knew he could do. He felt that faint edge of 'shouldn't' and murmured, //Shh, that. I have you. I'm here.// _ _

__Obi-Wan had a muffled sound for that reassurance, halfway between embarrassed and thankful, before he began to shake a little. //You are here. You. My Master. Safe again.//_ _

__//I am, and I have you, my padawan,// Qui-Gon answered, before that shaking made him gather Obi-Wan up in his arms and move to the closest thing he could sit on, holding him tight._ _

__"You shouldn't…" Obi-wan managed to protest before they were settled again, and he shook his head. "Stubborn master," he said softly, even as it brought back more memories. Memories of being wrapped in larger robes, of being held through injury and fever alike, of being carried away from danger._ _

__"As though you would possibly believe it were me if I was not?" Qui-Gon asked to that 'stubborn', and tucked him in a little bit closer, letting his hand run over Obi-Wan's back and side and down to his hip, reassuring himself that his padawan was really all right. "You look... every inch the Knight I knew you would be, dear one -- and also completely terrible."_ _

__Obi-Wan gave a snort. "It was a hard campaign. Cody and I managed to keep fatalities down, but it was a near thing… and we still lost far too many in the air support." His voice slid around that name with familiarity that Qui-Gon could catch, as well as the vague taste of it in the Force._ _

__"Your Commander," Qui-Gon murmured, knowing that name from Anakin and Rex and Ahsoka. The familiarity and love there, though, that he hadn't entirely expected. "You need rest, dear one. And a shower, probably not in that order."_ _

__"I promised Cody I would do all of that. He'd just won that fight, actually, when Anakin commed." Obi-Wan unwound himself, pulling his shields in place, and pushing himself to look the part of the General. "Come with me to my quarters?" he asked, scared to ask if his Master meant to remain with him._ _

__"Why was it a fight?" Qui-Gon asked, hating seeing his padawan cloak himself so. "And Obi-Wan, of _course_ I will come with you. Do you really think there is anywhere else I want to be?" _ _

__Short of kicking his Fallen once-Master's tail all over the galaxy, anyway._ _

__Obi-Wan breathed out a sigh. "I would be glad to have you here, Master." He then shook his head. "It's a common argument over which of us will rest and which will do the reports is all."_ _

__Qui-Gon nodded his acceptance of the first and his understanding of the second, though his mouth quirked slightly as he stood to follow. "Ah, reports."_ _

__Obi-Wan had always had a mind for the details of those that he simply didn't, but why he would argue over doing them... well, no matter._ _

__Obi-Wan led them off the ship and through the bay, nodding to his men, calling them by name. Once he did pause their trek, offering empathy to one young trooper that had lost two batch mates in the fighting, while praising him for being strong enough to continue to hold their memory. Even with such distractions, it did not take them long to get to Obi-Wan's quarters which, like Anakin and Ahsoka's, were nearer to Army country than in Fleet Officer decks._ _

__This was not a side of his no-longer-padawan Qui-Gon had often seen, but nothing about his compassion and his leadership were at all a surprise. He had known those were there for years. Qui-Gon was also unsurprised that his padawan would choose to live close to his men.. and it was oddly soothing to see the sharp looks cast at him, as the stranger, by the men they passed._ _

__Obi-Wan didn't catch those, or the near-hostility in his men, never one to pick up on people being protective over him. He let Qui-Gon into quarters, and sighed softly as he was able to let the mask drop some._ _

__"I really should get clean. Feel free to use the tea service… and let in the tray that is likely to be brought shortly?" Obi-Wan asked._ _

__"I will," Qui-Gon agreed, making a shooing gesture towards the 'fresher. "Go on, my dear one."_ _

__Obi-Wan nodded and went that way, negligently calling a clean set of small clothes and leggings to hand with the Force rather than detour for same from his trunk._ _

__+++_ _

__Cody was taking reports, trying to get all the after-action reviews in before he submitted his own mission debrief, but he stopped and looked up at General Skywalker… without his own general._ _

__"Sir?" he asked, half-rising from the table in the officer's ward room._ _

__"It's all right, Cody," Anakin replied, shaking his head and motioning for him to settle back down. "Obi-Wan may be on the _Twilight_ for the next several hours, but... it's all right. He's going to be fine." _ _

__"Care to expand on that, sir? So that I know how best to handle anything that comes up?" Cody invited Skywalker, managing to blank the deep concern out of practice. The secret of that relationship was not one to be shared, ever, not with Skywalker. Cody respected the younger general, but his own got tied up in knots about the man._ _

__Anakin eyed Cody thoughtfully, able to feel the edge of prickly defensiveness -- but Cody was about as devoted to Obi-Wan as Wolffe was to Plo. He pulled out a chair, spun it backward, and dropped onto it, looking at Cody thoughtfully. "Pretty sure this is going to strain your ability to believe the things the Force and do... kriff, it strained mine, and I'm the one that can use it. But yes, I'll explain. Much of one as I've got, anyway."_ _

__Cody cocked his head, then pushed the reports away. "I've seen some impressive things, General. So if you're saying that, this has to be interesting and then some."_ _

__"And how," Anakin agreed, making a moment's noise. "So of course our line is tied up as thick in it as possible. A few days ago, Ahsoka went out scouting on Minwan and had to call a Lartie to come get her because she'd found a badly injured Jedi that _hadn't been there_ half an hour before." _ _

__"Random Jedi appearing out of nowhere? Let's hope the Sith don't pick that trick up," Cody said firmly to Anakin. "Have enough on my hands every time that… woman appears."_ _

__Anakin hissed at the mention of Ventress, even as he shot a sympathetic look at Cody. That was one place the two of them agreed completely. He pushed his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "I really doubt they will... especially as this particular Jedi had been thought dead for the better part of twelve years. Apparently, no, the Force just _stole_ him." _ _

__"Twelve years… and -- " Cody went absolutely stiff and sat up very tall, a harder look at the general than he'd intended to give as he flared with protective worry over his general._ _

__Obi-Wan had _told_ him? Anakin stared at Cody, shocked -- ignoring the edge of hurt -- before he nodded slowly. "He wasn't dying... anymore, to Kix's bafflement. And he knew things no-one else should possibly know. Also, I got Master Plo to come use his telepathy to be sure. It's Qui-Gon Jinn."_ _

__"Master Jinn." Cody relaxed down a shade for the extra reassurance from Plo. Most Vod'e trusted that general as well as their own. Everyone knew what he had suffered with and done for the Wolfpack. "This is going to affect the General quite a bit."_ _

__"Was that Rex-style sarcasm, or Obi-Wan style understatement, Cody?" Anakin asked, cocking his head slightly in amusement at Cody's deadpan humor. "And yeah. Master Jinn."_ _

__That Cody knew so much, that Obi-Wan had so much faith in him and would open up to him about _that_... Anakin was still very surprised, and re-evaluating what he'd thought he understood about them. _ _

__Cody's lips twitched. "I find it helpful to emulate my general as much as I can, for continuity of operations, Sir."_ _

__Anakin couldn't help but laugh at that, shaking his head a little. "Alright, I can see that. Though somehow I don't see Rex taking that one up. Anything you need me to take a look at or lend a hand with, since my Master is going to be... very occupied, for a while?"_ _

__Cody shook his head. "I have it, Sir. If you wish to go… I can keep an ear and eye out for when my general emerges."_ _

__"I doubt Master Qui-Gon will be far behind," Anakin said, "and if you're sure, all right. Take care of my Masters, Cody, all right?"_ _

__"I will, General," Cody assured._ _

__+++_ _

__Obi-Wan had emerged from the 'fresher, eaten what had been delivered to him, and then somehow fallen prey to his fatigue. Despite the unreal situation of having his beloved Master returned to him._ _

__Said Master was curled around him, in the bed, wearing the same as himself, which was merely leggings. That, once Obi-Wan had checked in and made certain Cody was taking care of himself, led to the actual reality sinking in, because as Obi-Wan looked toward Qui-Gon after using his comm, he saw the livid scar on the torso… and broke down, completely. It was as if the twelve missing years didn't exist for Obi-Wan in the next instant after seeing it, that day in Theed pressing sharply to the forefront of his mind._ _

__"Never should have rushed ahead of me," Obi-Wan said, weakly, once he'd managed to work through the entire rest of the fight, after regaining his breath and ability to speak from the initial collapse of his emotional walls._ _

__"No," Qui-Gon agreed softly, petting his padawan's long hair, the broad stretch of his shoulders, trying to continue supporting him as much as he could, "no, I should not have, dear one.... Despite my sudden surety that one of us was going to die, and I would not allow it to be you, if I had not been so reckless, you might have been spared so much grief."_ _

__Obi-Wan forced himself to breathe, to regulate it with the exercise that was uniquely his own. He had not fallen that far to pieces, near anyone, not even Cody, in years. The closest had been the night he had to tell Bant about Siri._ _

__Force take it, but Anakin wouldn't have known to tell Qui-Gon about Adi!_ _

__"I'm sorry," he finally said, once he thought he was back in control of himself. "I… I tried, Master, to let go of it. I think all I did was bury it."_ _

__Qui-Gon shook his head, and moved to gather Obi-Wan up a little more closely, making a soft, quiet noise of disagreement. "You have nothing to be sorry for, my padawan. _No_ , listen to me. If one of my lost were suddenly returned to me, no matter how much peace I had made with it, do you think I would be any less affected?"_ _

__Obi-Wan considered that, and it was Tahl that immediately came to mind, sobering him even further. "I wish you could be so lucky, Master." He rested his forehead against Qui-Gon's throat, wishing his master could have someone he actually loved back to help him through this Force-forsaken war._ _

__Qui-Gon shifted his weight, just slightly, so that he could press into that contact, staying as close as he could get and Obi-Wan would let him. "Mmm. In rather the opposite way, I think I already am," he told him. "I am alive, when I thought I was dead, and you, dear one, are alive."_ _

__There was the barest whisper of 'but why am I' in the training bond before Obi-Wan could blank it. "Hmm, well, I'll just have to try and make certain nothing changes that, then, Master," he said with a bit of humor in his voice._ _

__"You had best," Qui-Gon replied, low rumble of his voice deep in his throat, before he focused his attention on that whisper he _had_ caught, and on the way Obi-Wan had blanked it. "Dear one," he murmured, softer, more gentle, "what was that?" _ _

__"Hmm?" Obi-Wan looked at his Master guilelessly, preferring not to face the latent suicidal impulses under his sense of duty, his guilt for surviving. "Nothing, Qui-Gon." Using the name, instead of the title could be distracting, as it had been rare for him to abuse the privilege even once he'd been named a Senior Padawan._ _

__Qui-Gon looked at him, neither distracted by the use of his name nor fooled by that guileless expression -- he _knew_ that expression, and quite well. He was amused to see that a full mustache and beard did nothing to alter it in any meaningful way. _ _

__"Mmm," he said quietly, and thought for several long minutes about everything he had been told (and read) about the events that had sparked this war. "Obi-Wan. The deaths on Geonosis are _not_ your fault." _ _

__"Of course not, Master. I only managed to spring the trap in the worst possible way by not providing the right intelligence," Obi-Wan said, sarcasm thicker than usual in the words, but Qui-Gon had hit the nail squarely on the head. "On that note, I do hope you intend to brush up on another form to supplement Ataru? It is effective, but the endurance needed is an issue."_ _

__"Especially," Qui-Gon agreed, "with this damage through my midsection. Yes, my worrying padawan, I intend to pick up another form."_ _

__He shifted his weight, freed an arm, and tangled his hand in his padawan's hair to tug his head back. He didn't have a braid to work with, but the mass of hair would do perfectly well. Obi-Wan's eyes snapped wide, and he knew he had his attention. "My old Master's murderous designs are why our friends and colleagues died, Obi-Wan Kenobi, **not** you." _ _

__Obi-Wan's eyelids fluttered mostly closed as he tried to make those words soothe the guilt. It wasn't working, not even hearing it from the man he revered._ _

__"I'm sorry, Master, but I do not see it that way, not exactly. From my point of view, I should have been more careful, should have sent better intelligence, and certainly should have insisted they not attempt to retrieve me!_ _

__"That was time wasted, and lives, that could have prepared for the attacks that followed!" His frustration was evident in his voice, as he explained his logic._ _

__"And at what possible point could you have told them that, Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked, cocking his head slightly, looking at his padawan's almost-closed eyes, the pain and distress on him causing him to ease his hold, to cup his fingers around his nape instead. "Anakin relayed what you were able to transmit to them to me. I've also done some reading._ _

__"You reported the Separatist leadership actively moving towards treason, the manufacture of these droids... Mace did not bring the Jedi to Geonosis only for you, dear one, he brought them for the sake of the Republic, as each of us is sworn to."_ _

__Obi-Wan pressed into that hold unconsciously, before he looked at Qui-Gon for that perspective. "There were padawans on that field," he said softly. "Because Mace had so many knights and masters out trying to bring things back, leaving him few to choose from for his strike force. And he had Dooku on his blade!_ _

__"If he had just let Jango go and handled Dooku then! Or if Master Yoda hadn't given way to sentiment, later! The war could have been ended as it began, and the deaths might not have been in vain!"_ _

__"Mace, my dear one, is the _idiot_ that was stupid enough to walk alone into a box of half the Separatist leadership knowing one of the best duellists in the galaxy -- and one of the other most dangerous men in the worlds -- were there." Qui-Gon replied, still wanting to kick the Master of the Order a few solid times for that particular moment of hubris. _ _

__Obi-Wan closed his eyes again, and pushed into Qui-Gon's hold. "Yoda was winning. And I couldn't concentrate enough to protect my padawan so he didn't have to!"_ _

__"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said, soft and steady, having gotten into the files of Master Yoda's report on this portion of things, "you were badly wounded, as was Anakin. Perhaps Master Yoda could have chosen differently... but think, if you will, what it would mean for all of us, and for the Order, if he chose to allow murder rather than save life?"_ _

__That… slammed through Obi-Wan, cutting the emotional storm in half. Wasn't that exactly the problem they were facing with the longer this war went on? How many Jedi were struggling to maintain the warrior persona, when so many of them lived for negotiation and compromise?_ _

__"Oh."_ _

__"Yes," Qui-Gon agreed quietly, feeling that sudden realization -- not willing to hope, yet, that he had gotten through to his stubborn student, but sure that he had made at least a little progress. "I didn't think you'd considered that."_ _

__Obi-Wan nodded a little, before he tried to make himself give Qui-Gon some distance. "I really ought to make an appearance. Before they assume the worst and send Helix to break down the door," he half-joked, needing to move and be the man he forced himself to be for a while, so that the new ideas and everything could settle into place._ _

__"Your medic, I take it. Is he much like Anakin's Kix?" Qui-Gon asked, honestly curious, and willing -- at least mostly -- to give his padawan time to think, to try to take in what he hadn't considered before. Sometimes, that was the tactic to take with Obi-Wan. Sometimes he even remembered that._ _

__What he wasn't as willing to do was let Obi-Wan slip away from him... which was entirely his own selfishness, and therefore only worth ignoring._ _

__"Not hardly," Obi-Wan said sharply. He then looked sheepish, and down. "I never got any better about coping with medical things, Master. Someone remembered that, and found a medic that was far more careful on how he handles my occasional injuries than someone as abrasive as Master Che._ _

__"Kix is a good, solid man, and just the kind of medic to look after Anakin and the men that try to emulate him. But Helix is far more my preference."_ _

__"Shhh," Qui-Gon murmured, gathering his padawan back into his arms. "Shh, dear one. I am glad to hear that your medic is suited to you. Kix entertained me, in his... tenacity? Yes, that fits."_ _

__'Occasional' injuries, right. Obi-Wan still had a profound preference for understatement, it seemed._ _

__He really ought not be enjoying such coddling, taking advantage of it, but Obi-Wan nearly melted into that hold again. At least he wasn't touch-starved? He still remembered how badly Cody had handled realizing the depths of that issue when they'd first come to their understanding. He wasn't certain he could have maintained pretenses with his Master if he'd still been at that point._ _

__"I'll introduce you to him, along with all the others," Obi-Wan said after a long moment. "If you are serious about remaining with me. I like the idea of keeping you unofficial, but letting rumor seep out. It might guard us from the Sith master, and draw Dooku right out into a battle of our choosing."_ _

__"I would like to meet them," Qui-Gon agreed, feeling a flicker of... something, but not able to catch what. "And of course I am serious, Obi-Wan. I have no interest in becoming a curiosity, being separated from you, _or_ letting this hidden Sith have any idea that I am here. The Force had a reason for returning me, I mean to accomplish that purpose." _ _

__Obi-Wan gave him a quick smile for that. "And threw you in the path of one that is as attuned to the Living Force as she can be," he teased lightly. "Shaak Ti did an excellent job of helping her meld her heritage and the Jedi ways into something more than either side. It's given her that solid connection you always had."_ _

__"I did notice that," Qui-Gon agreed. "Quite a delightful girl, if...as emphatically impudent as any of the rest of us."_ _

__Obi-Wan looked innocently at him. "She is every bit the same kind of padawan as what I had, and I couldn't be more delighted to have that revenge. Anakin… was a handful and then some."_ _

__"I did garner that impression," Qui-Gon answered, shaking his head in half-amusement, and half in profound concern, "from some of what he said... and some of what he didn't."_ _

__Obi-Wan tipped his head, curious noise in his throat. "Oh? He's not having trouble, is he? They seem to have a solid rapport every time I see them together, and she has been passing every test sent in. Even if Plo refused to give her highest marks on her piloting skills. He expected better of Anakin's student, I think."_ _

__"No, they seemed fine," Qui-Gon replied. "I meant about Anakin being a handful. I did learn how to listen for a young person refusing to discuss something, over the years, dear one, and no, not only with you."_ _

__Obi-Wan half-shrugged at that. "Anakin is Anakin." He did manage to keep his hurt behind his shields. That was his own burden to bear, a personal one that even Bant had not glimpsed in years. If Anakin did not trust him, it had to be his fault, and after Tatooine… well, he was lucky to have what he did of his padawan's friendship._ _

__"Shall we go in search of food and start integrating you with the men?" he asked, deflecting this away from issues he really was not willing to discuss._ _

__"All right, dear one," Qui-Gon replied, though the fact that Obi-Wan had retreated behind his shields made him uneasy. Especially with what he knew the two of them so desperately needed to discuss. One bantha at a time, one bantha at a time._ _

__+++_ _

__The passive hostility was still very present as Obi-Wan took Qui-Gon on a tour, and Qui-Gon was quickly seeing it was not the fact that he was being introduced as a staff officer assigned to assist them._ _

__No, these men were, one and all, wary of his place in their general's life, and ready to pounce on any sign of betrayal, no matter how small it might be. It didn't seem to be present with the Commander, Cody, but that one was shrewdly appraising him with intelligence in his eyes that spoke of true knowledge._ _

__Obi-Wan didn't pick up on it; he had been immersed in their protectiveness for more than two years._ _

__"Commander, did we receive orders while I was resting?" Obi-Wan asked his right hand._ _

__"Yes sir. Ship has already been redirected; we will not be receiving replacement ships or troops before this one, Sir," Cody informed him. "I took the liberty of signing off, Sir."_ _

__Obi-Wan gave him a smile. "I know you handled everything well, Cody. Go ahead and brief me, so I can see which ways this one will bite us the wrong way."_ _

__"It could, but apparently the 127th will be on standby for us," Cody said before launching into the briefing, discreetly watching how the elder Jedi handled the details of their mission goals and Obi-Wan's quick strategizing. He hoped this Master Jinn didn't hurt the general and adapted quickly enough to be a help… but Cody had seen enough of the older Jedi by now to be aware some just could not adapt as well as Plo Koon to thinking outside their marching orders._ _

__Qui-Gon listened, his head tipping just slightly, as he absorbed what now needed to be done. It sounded as though Anakin's forces -- that was still one of the more disturbing thoughts/phrasings he had ever had, but this was their life now -- were alongside, which was a comfort given what Obi-Wan had said of his own losses._ _

__And the entire mission parameters sounded just as straightforward as any of their old ones that had gone horribly awry. Obi-Wan was usually the one with the bad feelings, but if this went according to plan, he'd eat an anooba. He wanted, badly, to help... but he knew he did not have enough grasp of how they operated (yet) to do more than support._ _

__"We'll talk to Anakin, closer to arrival, Cody, and maybe shuffle what air support we do have to his command, take on some of his ground forces," Obi-Wan finally said. "That way our covering fire will all be under one direct command. Anakin's brilliant at that side of things. And I'm certain you're not going to complain if I can get Captain Rex pulled into our ground campaign." He gave a quick smile to Cody, who returned it briefly._ _

__"That would smooth out the chain of command, if we integrate like we did for the latter Christophsis battles," Cody agreed. "Commander Tano would be more useful in the ground assault as well, if you can convince General Skywalker to spare her off the air command. From the layout we've been sent, her ability to smuggle small commando groups into place would give us an edge here…" and Cody went back to describing the task, Obi-Wan moving to his side of the display table to look at it from that perspective._ _

__That it let Obi-Wan be nearer his commander without breaching propriety was only a blessing to his nerves, settling him as they planned what could easily turn into another siege campaign._ _

__Ahsoka was so young, but the Commander spoke of her ability to do such things with absolute surety. Qui-Gon added how fast his great grand-padawan had had to grow up to the long list of things he was taking up with his Fallen Master when they saw each other again. "And where, Obi-Wan, do you need me?" he asked, as a lull came._ _

__Obi-Wan tensed up as he came up against the idea of taking his Master into combat again… and he forced it down at the slightest twitch of Cody's hand toward him. "I think, Master, we should look at you training with Waxer's squad, and hold them in reserve, under your command, to apply pressure at any point our lines begin to crack."_ _

__"Mobility strikers? That would be a strong asset, and Waxer's squad is seasoned enough to adapt quickly, sir," Cody said. "It's also in keeping with Skywalker's briefing on the long-range plan to draw the Sith out."_ _

__Qui-Gon watched as the Commander soothed down his padawan's apprehension with just a shift of his body, not even a touch, and a trace of a smile touched his own lips as he nodded. Obi-Wan had someone that knew him that well, who he trusted that much. "It does," he agreed, "and will allow me to start getting a grip on this. Agreed."_ _

__"Alright. Then I'll introduce you to Waxer. Don't mind Boil; he's far less grumpy than he lets on… and it might have the side benefit for us all," Obi-Wan said, brightening. "How's your Twi'leki, Master? If you can take over those two's language lessons, it would give you a way to connect more quickly with them, as I haven't had as much time as I should make for them."_ _

__"It's been a little while, but I'd say decent," Qui-Gon answered, puzzled but smiling at the brightly relieved pleasure on Obi-Wan's face. "Human limitations considered, at least. I can teach them, but I admit to curiosity about why?"_ _

__Cody snorted. "Because they are planning to adopt a Twi'lek orphan, just as soon as we can get our legal status settled out."_ _

__"Ryloth was badly hit, Master," Obi-Wan told him. "While we were there, a girl called Numa wound up helping my men… and myself. They want to help her, given that she had no direct relatives from what we learned before pulling out."_ _

__The fact that these men, who had so few rights, were thinking of helping others, caring for a child left without family... They were amazing, more generous of spirit than anyone could have hoped for, and Qui-Gon determined, again, that he was going to defend them. "Then they will definitely need to know her language," he agreed. "Good. Something pleasant to pass downtime with."_ _

__"Then let's get you down to Waxer, and take care of introductions," Obi-Wan said. "I'll handle discussing this with Anakin after."_ _

__"Yes sir," Cody told him, before looking at Master Jinn briefly. He felt that maybe, just maybe, the Master might be an asset, as he grasped that small thing and accepted his place helping the men with a non-war task._ _

__He would just have to make certain nothing happened to the older Jedi. Obi-Wan wasn't going to handle any more deaths that close to him._ _

__"Let's," Qui-Gon agreed, dipping his head once to the Commander still appraising him before he rose to follow Obi-Wan down to meet these men he would be leading._ _

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. The plan was to draw Dooku out to learn the truth for himself. Fighting would have ensued, and Qui-Gon's new skills in Soresu would have been an edge in his fighting Dooku.
> 
> 2\. Qui-Gon would have recognized something Asajj was wearing as Ky Narec's, and confronted her over his thought she had killed his friend. Brutal honesty from the Dathomiri Witch would have ensued, revealing why she hates the Order. And Qui-Gon reaching out after that would have pushed her off her path a little earlier.
> 
> 3\. Not sure how things about Palps would have gone.
> 
> 4\. Maul was going to be a corpse, just as soon as Qui-Gon laid eyes on him, if Qui-Gon had his way about it.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [No Plan for That](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13917243) by [Merfilly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly)




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